


Thoughts in a Vacuum

by FencingRealities



Category: Attack on Space - Fandom, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Attack on Space, Attack on Titan AU, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Science Fiction, Strangers to Friends, major changes made after fic completion, yeah I know it looks weird but it's explained
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 12:03:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 95,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1346758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FencingRealities/pseuds/FencingRealities
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Jaeger has never had anyone that he could relate to when it came to his passion about the new world humanity strives to reach: Axiom. However, when Eren gets lost in the huge expanses of Ark Rose when deep in thought, he stumbles upon a computing maintenance room called the Ark Rose Operations Center. There he discovers that the A.R.M.I.N. can give more than automatic responses, and as the artificial intelligence lures him to keep visiting the A.R.O.C., it keeps revealing deeper, darker, and more wonderful secrets about the new world.<br/>EDIT: I had an epiphany this evening about the nature of this fic and will be making major plot edits over the next few weeks. See notes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Accidental Findings

**Author's Note:**

> This is a WIP!  
> See, the thing is, I was amazingly 100% right about a lot of what is now AOS canon. This is also an expansion of a giant theory document I came up with the 22nd of December. I'll keep the exact dates when I wrote these on each chapter posting to prove that I'm not lying about practically having a mind meld with Reuben Lack.  
> If you wish to argue about how I'm posing about "coming up with the stuff before it was aired", please send me an ask at my tumblr iheartcartoons1.
> 
> This work is currently completed throughout the happenings in season 1, and the ending. Since I have no idea what season 2 is like, I'll have to wait for that to come out before I write the middle 1/3 of the entire fic. The worst part is, this monstrosity spun out of control because a friend said my original theories would make a good story/fic.  
> For the record, this takes place soon after Eren graduated training and was placed in the G.C.
> 
> EDIT: I had an epiphany this evening about the nature of this fic and will be making major plot edits over the next few weeks. I've gotten over my obsession with making this completely AOS canon-compliant, and will be writing the plot I originally planned out all the way back when I conceived this monstrosity. I'm planning on dividing this into 2 fics: the original (still erily accurate) plot I had which will be an AU of the AOS AU, and a gen rated narration styled-meta on my interpretation of the plot. Somewhere along the line, I mixed the two and I don't like the result; shipping canon A.R.M.I.N. and Eren is screwed up for spoilery reasons, and I don't want to use theory and context clues as excuses for it to be healthy. I will re-tag when these changes are complete.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren gets lost in the huge expanses of Ark Rose when deep in thought, and he stumbles upon a computing maintenance room called the Ark Rose Operations Center. There he discovers that the A.R.M.I.N. can give more than automatic responses,.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, this takes place soon after Eren graduated training and was placed in the G.C.
> 
> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in due time.
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 1: written Dec. 22-Dec. 25th 2013

Chapter 01 DRAFT

Eren’s cold and echoey footsteps reverberated off the walls of the hallway he was walking down. The adolescent himself was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay attention to his surroundings, which were becoming more quiet and less occupied as he stormed along. It’s not like he would care anyway, he wanted to go anywhere away from the people he normally interacted with, sick of their opinions which burned as the stark antithesis of his own. Living in the arks and surviving the day just wasn’t enough for him. How could everyone really feel that complacent with their living conditions? Didn’t anyone want to see more than the same metal walls every day? Eren Jaeger was restless to explore and plagued with cabin fever, yet he didn’t even know what it was he wanted to see on Axiom.

After a while, if he wasn’t stewing, he’d notice that the passageways he was walking down had no pedestrian traffic whatsoever, not even one janitorial or maintenance droid could be seen, which were normally buzzing around everywhere. Hissing out of their pipes, steam that was perceived to be louder than normal thanks to the extraordinary quiet shook Eren out of his angsty stupor, yet the heavy cloud of worries that bothered him still pressed in the back of his mind. Where was he and how long had he been aimlessly walking? Eren didn’t have the slightest clue. He looked around for some indication of his location through a label on the sides of the halls, or possibly a deck number, but nothing of that sort could be seen. He was in a pedestrian hallway in the maintenance sector of Ark Rose, he knew _that much_ about his whereabouts.

“Just great.” Eren sighed aloud, wiping over his face with his palm. He could easily just turn around and attempt to retrace his steps, but… Did he really want to go back and deal with Mikasa just yet? Knowing her, she’d be worried sick and give Eren more than a hard time when he found his way back. It wasn’t just her either, his superiors could also be steamed with him. Maybe getting himself further lost wasn’t a fantastic idea either, so Eren opted for a third option; sitting down to think. Wanting to be left alone, he didn’t allow the risk of being harassed by a janitor droid for sitting on the floor by quietly slipping into the closest unlocked door to his side. The door was labeled “Ark Rose Operations Center”, with no additional warnings about how only authorized personnel were allowed. The sort of label that told him if he was breaking the law was the only type Eren was looking for, so he didn’t notice the smaller additional one below that read “Warning: exercise caution when maintaining interaction archetype”.

When the door slid shut behind him, the first thing he noticed was the subtle but immediate drop in temperature compared to the outside. The room was also nearly dark, which was odd because rooms automatically illuminated themselves when a lifeform entered. The heavy and muffled cavalcade of computer coolant systems whirring away in the close distance was also out of the ordinary. Overall, his surroundings were all exaggerations of their normal levels. He put his back to a blank space in the wall and slid down to sit down at a snail’s pace, and sighed. He recognized that there was little he could do about his emotions, and that they were somewhat misdirected, yet the cliché angst that teenagers felt, that no one understood what they were going through, was more true in Eren’s case. It was one of those days that seemed that the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and all his worries about the situation deemed his daily life now were exemplified. Trying to block his own thoughts out, Eren buried his face into his arms and made a loud and frustrated grunting noise. In fact, the adolescent was so self absorbed that day that he failed to catch the soft blue glow that started to filter through his eyelids after a long moment of ringing silence.

“Hey, are you alright?” A familiar voice broke the quiet. Eren didn’t even bother looking up to respond because he knew who it was, and there wasn’t any reason to retort other than to dismiss _it_.

“Yeah, I’m alright A.R.M.I.N., can you leave this room be for a while?”

“Um-” The program protested. _Now that was odd_. He’s dismissed the program many times in the past, and it always gave the same automated dialogue. Never a protest in situations that didn’t involve his well being, especially one that sounded so unsure. It didn’t even address him by his name… Eren looked up to find the voice’s source speaker, but he perceived more than he anticipated.

It was a lone _hologram_ of A.R.M.I.N. in the center of the room, displaying his avatar’s entire upper torso in a soft skyblue light. Eren had seen that shirtless avatar once before on a screen during his placement testing, but at the time little aesthetic details like the fact A.R.M.I.N. even had a “physical” representation didn’t make it to his memory thanks to the weight of the situation Eren was in when they “met”. However this version wasn’t as harsh on the eyes since the hologram wasn’t like the standard formats presented on most screens. Those presented him in 2D with harsh whites and piercing light blues, only as the visual of the soundwaves he created when he spoke.

“One moment, please.” The hologram stated, and then phased out for a few seconds, and then returned speaking in a more mechanical tone of voice for a split second. “Sorry, I needed to access my databases. Eren. You’re Eren Jaeger of the 104th training legion.” It was stated rather plainly with a tinge of curiosity, like he actually never interacted with him before. Eren blinked several times in response. _Why didn’t he already know that? Why did he stop sounding as mechanical there? What even was this room’s purpose? It’s completely barren and only large enough to support this holo-hub, yet the walls are stacked to the ceiling with computers..._ Eren immediately picked up on all these subtle flaws, and deemed the whole situation to reek with suspicious circumstances.

>“Yeah. I thought you already knew everyone’s names.” Eren said with a dull exasperation. A.R.M.I.N. quickly picked up that he really wasn’t welcome, and his shoulders heaved with his own sigh before he spoke again.

“Is there anything you need my programs or features for?”

“ _No_ , A.R.M.I.N.” Eren strained and buried his face back in his arms, and waited for the soft blue glow to dissipate for several minutes, but the desired event never came. He looked up again ready to throw a fit, but the program was just watching him, expression mitigating and somehow conveying a gentle curiosity.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong at least?” It was a strange question, but why not? It’s not like anyone else enjoyed his passionate rants when he did release them from their compressed mental containers, and the program had to listen. Sure it’s not like it was going to agree with him either, but he also felt the increasing need to breathe.

“I... have a dream. To eliminate the Titans, leave the narrow confines of these hulls, and make the trip safely so I can roam Axiom freely. But _civilians_ don’t seem concerned about what they’ve done to our ships so far and what a danger they are! We’ve had a major hull breach recently, but it’s never taken seriously by anyone but those in my corp. The last time a detrimental breach happened, we lost an entire Ark and thousands of lives!" The boy was starting to fume.

“Eren, I would be careful… Your records say you have a brain aneurysm, and that amount of stress could exacerbate it.” A.R.M.I.N. interrupted, but Eren just waved him off and kept talking.

“I feel that I’m the only one that’s bothered about that no one even talks about where we’re trying to go. We left Earth nearly nine hundred and ninety eight years ago so no one my age or even anyone’s parents remember what solid ground is like!   ‘Be happy with what you have.’ Don’t they understand there’s something _better_ and completely unexperienced out there?... Hell, even if we never leave the arks, we can stay alive as long as we eat and sleep. But that's just... living like livestock, isn't it?” Eren’s voice cracked and faded out, gripping the sleeves of his hoodie. The hologram expressed extreme _interest_ when Eren looked back at his “face” again. It slowly faded to a gentle and tiny smile, and it’s voice was tinged with energy the next time it spoke.

“... Did you know, there’s a body of saline water  that covers over seventy four percent of Axiom's surface? Fascinatingly enough, It hosts millions of ecosystems with creatures uglier than the Titans to, what I think anyway, creatures more beautiful than the nebula when solar flares ionize them.” The A.I. stated out of the blue with a clearly wistful tone to it. Jaeger just stared at him, eyes dilating in a way that betrayed his lack of trust for the program. That wasn’t the same constantly cheery demeanor it usually presented. It didn’t flash away to pull up information that time, which was far more occult than his name.

“No way. ...You knew that, but had to go and look up my name again?” Eren was surprised to find his voice betrayed his upset seconds earlier as well. The hologram gestured tapping his head.

“On-hand memory, er, R.A.M. data banks. The important stuff.”

“You don’t ever have to look stuff up. You’re everywhere, and you know _everything_ , so what’s with the buggy delayed responses?” The question sounded more bitter than Eren intended. He couldn’t scare him off now, he had it’s undivided attention, and it was more than willing to be more informative about the new world than anyone on the whole ark.

“Eren I promise you these aren’t technical errors. You’re speaking to me with the explicit directive of not requiring my tools, programs, or utilities, so you’re talking to the “A.R.” part of “A.R.M.I.N.”, that’s all.”

“Couldn’t you go back online to the rest of, um, yourself?”

“I could, but that would demean the purpose of this technological hub room.” Reading  Eren’s questioning sound, A.R.M.I.N. explained further before he could even ask.

“You’re in my designated A.R.O.C., or Ark Rose Operations Center room. It’s basically where the programmers can maintain the Interface Networks individually without shutting the entire system off.”

“Oh… So this is like a maintenance room.” Eren sighed with a sudden feeling of uneasiness creeping over him. He knew he could stay for hours and talk to “A.R. of A.R.M.I.N.” or whatever he said, about the ocean and all about it’s creatures alone, but the risk of getting caught trespassing or accidentally messing the A.R.M.I.N. up was too prevalent on his mind. He _just_  made it into the Corp of his dreams. He couldn’t piss off his superiors by wrecking the one thing that projected Titans appearing and keeping humanity safe. “I- I should go…”  He said dejectedly, and quickly stretched outward to then get up onto his feet at a reluctant pace, watching the hologram start to bite his lip in thought.

“If you feel that you must…” It began, disappointment more than apparent. Jaeger nodded in reply  and started to turn around to leave. “-But if it’s any condolence, I know where you’re coming from.”  A.R.M.I.N. blurted. Eren, who in that second had too many thoughts which crashed into each other at once, halted in his tracks and turned back around. _What?_

“How so?” He demanded, tone eager, more eager than he wanted to sound yet he also didn’t care at the same time.

“Part of my job for the past near millennium has been to observe humanity and record the notions and morals of the human race. Logically, I can conclude on my own that a good chunk of the populace believes in the oblivious and detrimental ideas you mentioned earlier. However, I’ve been programmed to tell civilians essentially what they want to hear in order to be politically correct.” It was apparently the computer’s turn to sound extraordinarily frustrated. Jaeger, even though it looked dumb as hell, stood there staring with his jaw slightly agape. _Yes_ it was strange hearing this from an A.I. The list of “Yesses” flew by at rapid pace in Eren’s mind. Someone that shared the same opinions, wasn’t afraid to express them (because he actually _could_  to him), and knew about Axiom in details that he couldn’t even imagine.

“If I came back as soon as I could… Would you tell me more about Axiom?” The words were hesitant at first but hummed with excitement.

“ _Absolutely_. I find the subject tremendously fascinating, and I haven't found many people willing to learn about their race’s objective, of all things.” A.R.M.I.N. chirped. With that, something in Eren’s brain and in his chest soared, despite that he wasn’t very aware of it in the moment.

“Great!” I’ll talk to you soon, A.R.M.I.N.!” He even took the time told make a haphazard wave with his elbow as he his hands back into his hoodie pockets. Turning on his heels, he started to head out.

“Good bye, Eren.”

Eren was walking back and retracing his rout with a slight spring in his step. That might just have been what he needed to remedy the hopelessness he felt earlier. A million questions shot through his mind, but one thing was certain whether he’d say it aloud or not: he made a second actual _friend_ today.

 

 


	2. The Computer's Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's curiosity gets the best of him, so he contemplates whether to seek out information on the omnipresent A.I. which so effectively grabbed his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in due time. (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 2: written Dec. 26-Dec. 27th 2013

Chapter 02 DRAFT

When he returned to the mess hall, thankfully Eren had not been absent long enough to raise concern other than needing to explain he went for a walk to clear his head . Mikasa understood his emotional needs and left it at that, unlike Jean who took the opportunity to tease him for his broody outbursts. In turn Marco laughed and quickly punched him in the arm, and told him he wasn’t any better. It didn’t matter much though, because Eren’s mind was still swarming from 10 minutes earlier. If he didn’t even count the questions he has about the new world, the inquiries were insurmountable in number.

“Here’s your allotted rations for your meals, guys.” the A.R.M.I.N. interjected into their conversation, nearly making Eren jump out of his seat. It took a split second for him to remember the program’s omniscience. Robotic arms revealed themselves from the walls of the mess hall carrying trays with nutritional biscuits and vegetables splayed across them. Resting his head back into his hands, elbow propped on the table, Eren ignored the few questioning looks he received and went back to trying to organize his thoughts. _So what the A.R.M.I.N. was saying could actually be true._ He could conclude that much right then. The program seemed to be acting completely normal to the standards Eren was used to here, and what it said about it’s “A.R.O.C.” or whatever was plausible as well. After a few more minutes of rumination, he concluded that what the A.I. explained to him clearly had not sunk in, and so he wanted answers, whether it was actually telling the truth or not to be specific. Well… He didn’t have any Reconnaissance training that booked his scheduled today, perhaps he could seek some answers from a person that actually knew a thing or two about the presence that practically ruled over their daily lives. With that conclusion, Eren let the topic go and engaged himself in conversation with the rest of his acquaintances, letting some of the sense of normalcy return steadily to his mind.

After the meal finished up Jaeger got out of his seat, turning to Mikasa.

“Hey Mikasa, I’m gonna quickly find someone to help me with some obscure questions.”

“You could just have asked the table this entire time during lunch.”

“I know, but I’m _certain_  no one would have an answer this time around. I’m not going to bother with that.”

“Alright.” Her brother was weird about things sometimes, so she didn’t question him this time.

“Also, it really would be pointless for you to accompany me this time. ...For the sheer purpose of streamlining the trip by reducing chatter involved. It won’t take long, for sure.”

“Hm.” Mikasa hummed flatly. She understood Eren’s loathing for pointless goose chases and fooling around, so she took no offense by the request. Eren was also being truthful, because while he was eating he already thought of a person that had the highest likelihood of having answers and was willingly answer them, so it shouldn’t take long at all. “If you’re successful, tell us all about it during dinner.” She quickly added in. _Oh_.

“Right. If,” He strained, “I find it _worthwhile_. “ With that he turned around and threw in a quick “See ya.” behind his back to her and walked off with determination and purpose in his stride.

The trip might have actually taken shorter if Mikasa accompanied him. This quest required tracking down a live person, so he had to ask a few people about their whereabouts, and all he got was interrogation why he needed to see them. Mikasa just had a way with how she presented her arguments, because when it came down to it, both siblings were equally pushy about getting what they wanted, but somehow she was just more _convincing_. On the walks in between harassing those in his way between he and the expert, he congregated a mass of questions together that would quell his curiosity and clarify everything without getting him in trouble or make him look suspicious. In reflection, he could just ask the A.R.M.I.N. all of these in any location, but it would feel weird to do so, if that made any sense. It was probably that it said that it’s replies were censored, so it wouldn’t likely answer in a way a person could, Eren thought.

He finally made it to outside the door of the computer lab where he was told he could actually find them, but found it was locked upon trying to open the door, so without hesitance he rang the intercom.

“Hello?” it answered after a few second in an uptight tone.

“Yeah, uh, it’s Cadet Eren Jaeger. I was told I could find-”

“Not now! We’re both busy with the latest Accuracy Prediction Algorithm, and it’s almost finished being written, and thus almost ready to be updated to the mainframe, so I’m _sure_ \- “ A loud clatter that sounded like someone dropped everything where they were standing made Eren wince.

“Oh come on, Moblit! How often do I get visitors? “ The voice cut him off in a burst of energy. “Especially cadets from my own Corp., and not a ton of ten year old students trying to do a report the last minute, and they can’t write it because they didn’t pay attention in class, and the A.R.M.I.N. won’t help them cheat?”

“But sir-”

“Just let him in!” The voice chided, sounding shrill thanks to the carryover on the intercom. Moblit’s and Eren’s expressions were most likely the same in that instant; concerned yet mildly terrified.

“Yes sir!” Moblit stuttered slightly. With a small ding the door split down the middle and glided open, allowing Jaeger to walk inside and stand at attention directly inside. Moblit quickly darted out of his way and quickly sat back down to look at the readings and results of the latest software trial on one of the possibly hundreds on computer screens in the room.

“Lieutenant Hanji.” Eren addressed with a slight thump in his voice due to the fist hitting his chest in salute.  

“At ease.” She waved the gesture off quickly, eyes darting off to a screen for a split second to check a reading, then turned back to face him directly. Eren relaxed in turn. “So Eren, whad'ya come and find me for? You’re done schooling, and you haven’t been assigned to the Engineering Department.”

“You’re the head of the Technological Specialists, right?” There was no hesitation in his voice.

“Yeah,” Hanji chuckled with more glee than warranted. “I am. Most graduates are too nervous about their placement to pay attention to names at the time, even less titles.”

“So you know all about the A.R.M.I.N., then.” Good, he had managed to remember the correct name associated with the title he heard.

“Know all about him? HA! I check on him, oversee his management, upgrade him, advocate his use, make sure the one thousand years of computing tech so far continues to develope, and I make sure he’s functioning on a daily basis. I’m practically A.R.M.I.N.’s _mom_.”  Hanji’s voice grew in excitement and energy with every word, her passion for her occupation more than obvious. This was the first time Eren had actually spoke to the women, and her exuberance and analogy caught him off guard. _Well then…_

“That’s… good. So it-”

“Him.” She quickly corrected.

“Oh.” Is all Eren could muster in response to that. “I have some questions about _him_  that I was hoping you could take some time out of your schedule to answer me.” He stated in the most normal tone of voice possible, aware that what he was asking for was potentially similar to what she complained about over the intercom a minute ago. “...There are actually a lot and they’re strange, I guess. Out of the ordinary, I mean.”

“You want to talk about Lil’  A.R.M.I.N., not about basic computer algorithms, and at length?...” Hanji started to look down at the matte grey ground as she spoke, but after a pause she suddenly jerked to look Eren in the eyes with a smile and a full flush  in her face. “Oh absolutely! I’d be more than glad to answer any questions you have and explain all the phenomenons that are responsible for his programming and responses, and the software and or hardware, AND-”

“Sir, we don’t have time for all that!” Moblit harshly interrupted the momentum she was gaining, but then quickly softened his voice in a sort of apology. “The trial run is scheduled to be launched in a quarter hour…”

“Right… So! You might as well take a seat. Anywhere’s good.”

“Oh. Okay.” Eren muttered and looked around the lab quickly for a place to rest. There really wasn’t anything except for the chairs stationed in front of the many computers, so he sat down in the closest one to him.

“So what do you want to know about A.R.M.I.N.? Hmm?” She inquired as she sat down in the chair directly next to him, expression more eager than a puppy’s. Eren looked to the ceiling as he recalled any question from the bunch. He had to word these carefully, even if he had found the Ark’s largest A.R.M.I.N. enthusiast. After a few seconds he finally spoke.

“Does A.R.M.I.N…. have feelings? I know, it’s cliché, but I was wondering because of how that affects how he interacts with us.” Eren lied because he himself wasn’t one hundred percent solid on why he was there asking these questions, other than he supposed the A.I. lured him in with the talk of oceans and Axiom.

“I’ll give you the shortest version I can… This’ll actually be difficult, because it’s a very broad question that delves into the morality and philosophy of artificial intelligence, hah…” Hanji began but immediately tripped over herself and took a second to think before speaking again. “First off, A.R.M.I.N.’s testing forum, albeit CPU intensive, is an isolated sector of the entirety of his computing abilities for running the three arks. I’m telling you this because most people automatically assume that he doesn’t have any sympathy and other emotional capabilities emulated at all in his being because the biggest impact he leaves on most people is when they take their placement testing.” Hanji began.

“Okay.” Eren queued after a second to signal that that much had sunk in.

“This isolated sector is purposely emotionally neutral to let testing that’s imperative the arks’ well being be unbiased in result. He won’t show sympathy towards anyone he tests to allow pure and honest results to form.” Zoe’s face nearly concealed the passion she felt for what she was talking about, tantalized by the potential to get into the nitty gritty of her answers. Eren subtly shrugged with the internal realization that he should stop clouding himself with _more_ questions as she spoke. Humming flatly, he just let her keep talking. “However the remainder of his normal functions and utilities for running the arks _does_ allow limited emulated emotion, so he’s able to do things from reasoning with and assisting those in danger outside the hulls, to directing a lost child without being cold and apathetic.”

“So it’s used in settings where it would be an aid because of relatability to other people.” Eren stated his conclusion flatly.

“Yeah, pretty much!” Hanji was surprised Eren cared enough still to follow along attentively. “Anything else?”

After a few seconds of pondering, Eren inquired more tentatively. “My squad leader, Corporal Levi, and my sister doesn’t trust the A.R.M.I.N. much at all. It seems that way, anyway. Is there any reason for that, I mean, is he dangerous to people?”

“I talk to the Corporal every time the semi-annual omni-board meetings roll around! He doesn’t trust anything farther than he can throw them, and he can’t throw A.R.M.I.N. at all. Between you and I, he needs to untwist his panties. So to answer your first question, no, I have no idea why he or your sister wouldn’t trust him, despite the answer I’m about to give you.”

Moblit passed by and placed two thermoses of coffee down for the both of them, keeping a third for himself. Both of the two sitting down gave him a curt “Thanks”, and sipped at it. Eren discovered he didn’t like coffee as Hanji continued her answer.

“As for being dangerous, _absolutely_. Well, he’s certainly capable of killing everyone on the arks in a million fashions, being omnipresent and in control of 98% of the arks functions and secondary network safety protocol that could be overridden by him potentially, but he’s programmed to never do those things, along with seemingly being satisfied with his existence. I’m not certain if he actually has morals, but it appears he follows conduct beneficial to humanity. I’d trust him with my life.” Hanji trailed off while the teenager gaped at her for her unorthodox beliefs.

“Even if that’s the case, don’t you read his every thought anyway?”

“Provided that A.R.M.I.N. has a ‘clean record’ of harming people, and that he processes thousands of ‘thoughts’ a second, we’ve determined it’s impossible and unnecessary. We really only do that sort of thing for placement testing.”

“It’s possible since it’s isolated.”

“Exactly.” Another short pause ensued.

“...So can he have opinions, or-” Eren began to enquire, but a long and drawn out tone erupted from the speakers.

“Whoa, that went even faster than I expected.” Zoe said, flourishing the statement with a difinitively disappointed chuckle.

“The tests are done, and the trial says it’s a clean set. We gotta go, Hanji, Sir.”

“I figured as much.” She stated as she got up. “Well Eren, it’s been nice talking, _please_  come back as soon as you can so I can answer that question and more! I mean, I have a busy schedule so it might be a while, but nonetheless!” Eren got out of his seat, thanked her, and politely dismissed himself. Leaving the room at a slower pace then the other, a sharp realization poked him in the brain.

“Wait!” Eren called out, but the two were already around the corner. “Wouldn’t A.R.M.I.N. have interjected to explain about himself since we were talking about him so much?...” The teenager sighed and scuffed the ground with his foot. He had learned in honesty only superficial knowledge for his questions. But in reality, Eren just wasn’t consciously asking the right ones. Why did he even care that much? He certainly didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help it. A.I. or not, A.R.M.I.N. had tapped into a personal well of burning passion with one sentence.

  


That evening at dinner, as expected, Mikasa asked how his quest for knowledge went, and what he learned. Except to Eren’s dismay, everyone seemed interested in what he had to tell. His sister had apparently explained where he had run off to for the afternoon, not out of other people curious about where he was, but her gripping about his near all day absence.

“Did I have my questions answered? Well, yes and no…” Eren began.

“Would you explain to us what you were even asking about?” Connie cut in with an exasperated tone.

“He probably ran off to ask Reiner or Bertholdt on how to use the 3DMG better to impress the Corporal, since he’s _clearly_ insecure about his skills- OW!” Jean was interjecting with a snide tone until his shoulder received another playful sock from Marco. “You little shit, quit hitting me!” His voice tried to sound angry but was betrayed by the amusement he felt.

“I will once you quit being a little bitch about nonexistent problems.” Marco teased just as easily, mitigating his friend into quieting down. Something could be heard about flirting from another table, but everyone ignored it. Eren sat there hoping that the interruption would keep the attention off of him so he wouldn’t have to explain what he himself was still confused on.

“Anyway.” Mikasa cleared her throat. Great. He recognized that his sister in reality was being polite by cutting off rude behavior, but she wasn’t helping his cause this time around.

“I was just wondering some stuff about the A.R.M.I.N. because of a philosophy poster on A.I. ethics I saw for some club.” Eren pressed. It seemed close enough to the truth that most seemed to buy it, instantly relieving their interest on his activities. His sister was more finely tuned to him, though.

“Kind of weird thing to care about since it involves itself in our lives so much that you forget it’s not a force of nature or something.” She said slowly, narrowing her eyes at her brother and scoffing at the thought of the computer.

“I dunno, my questions were answered, so my interest on him-” Fuck, did fifteen minutes with that lady make him start thinking of it like it was a person? “it  is pretty much over. Infact the specialist I tracked down is a nut job, so I’d be okay with not talking about A.I.s for the next month.” He spit out to cover his own ass. Mikasa sighed, but it looked like she accepted his answer, humming flatly in response.

“Alright.”

The rest of the evening played out like any other would. Dinner went smoothly, people separated to do their own thing, and all was tranquil. Even Eren managed to let it go until he was laying in bed trying to sleep, trying to figure out his weird interest with the computer. What he was feeling was a need to be friends with him, but the emotions involved were so out of the ordinary and so intense for him, that it rendered them unrecognizable.  Eventually the teen came to the conclusion that another visit would be necessary to quell his thoughts, so he could move on with his life. He absolutely couldn’t tomorrow; there was training all day, and with how heavy the equipment was he’d be too exhausted to even care in the evening. Eren settled on giving the A.I. a visit the morning of the day after tomorrow.


	3. The Second Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After careful consideration and a decent amount of reluctance, Eren visits the A.R.O.C. once more. As usual, he gets something he never expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in due time. (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 3: written Dec. 31-Jan. 2nd 2014

Chapter 03 DRAFT

The day of the scheduled visitation came faster then expected. Eren muttered as much as he was woken up by a special notice he asked the A.R.M.I.N. to give him a half hour earlier then his normal time. Getting out of bed and passing Mikasa’s room, he saw that it was empty, and remembered that she got up ridiculously early to go to the exercise facilities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This was convenient enough for him since she wouldn’t be back until eleven AM or so. He felt bad about lying last night since he wouldn’t have an excuse for disappearing today if she she did end up worrying about his whereabouts. A pang of frustration hit him as his thoughts trailed to the fact that he was fifteen years old, so he shouldn’t need to tell her where he was himself every hour of the day. Yeah she was protective of the family she had left, but she could just as easily ask the computer where he was. At least he _thought_  it kept track of everyone, and possibly would disclose said information to family members. Sighing, he shook it off and got dressed. Eren stuffed a provision bar into the pocket of the same grey hoodie that he seemed to wear everyday. The thing had a single minimalist light green stripe along each sleeve and the hood, and he’s had the thing since he was ten, maybe. The drawstrings were beginning to fray with age, and the only reason it still fit him was because it was way too large for him when he received it.

He headed out the door still rather groggy, thinking about where he went exactly to stumble upon the A.R.O.C.. Scratching the back of his head, Eren remembered clearly that he was in some pedestrian hallway in the maintenance sector of the ark, but the rest was less than lucid. He had to trace his steps to get out of there, right? It couldn’t be too terrible. He unwrapped the provision bar, which was particularly dry thanks to the fact that he just woke up, and immediately turned around back into his quarters to grab a bottle of water. With that out of the way, he made his way towards the A.R.O.C. while eating his breakfast. Once he was getting closer he let his memory serve him to the best of his ability and also relied on the steadily less populated and increasingly quiet atmosphere. Right, left, left, right, straight, right… The turns went on for a long, nerve wracking, time until Eren was certain he was more lost then the first time, and quickly grew irritated with the mere idea. He told himself he should actually try to memorize the rout, but then again he wasn’t absolutely certain if he’d be coming back after today. Right before Eren was about to give up, he finally across the same hallway as two days ago. He was sure of it, thank goodness. The teen approached the A.R.O.C. door and actually took heed to the labels on it this time around. He wasn’t certain on anything at this point but he knew this much: visiting was the only way he’d get clear answers since the A.I. explained things in a format that he was more comfortable with, somehow… Eren took a deep breath and brazenly stepped inside.

The same chilled darkness enveloped him immediately, and some of the irrational edginess he felt left him, since it seemed like a particularly suitable environment for calming a fiery teenager, anyway. After a few seemingly endless seconds of silence and the program not appearing, Eren quickly ended it with dying hesitation.

“A.R.M.I.N.?” Immediately the whir of a cooling fan disturbed the air, and the hologram projection sprang to life. It came into focus facing away from the one of flesh and blood. It physically looked around for who said his name, despite that he lacked eyes and there were probably cameras looking at Jaeger from every angle, making it seem all the more lifelike. A.R.M.I.N. turned around and his “eyes” focused on Eren, blinked once, and instantly his expression lit up.

“Eren! You came back! I worried right before I went dormant that my offer wasn’t enough for you to want to come and find me again, but-”

“Yeah I came back. I told you that I would if you told me more, so that would mean I _am_ interested. I’m not sure if you’d be annoyed by it or something, but sorry for keeping you waiting.” Jaeger cut him off thinking he was about to off on an over calculated rant. The A.I.’s expression and tone became a touch sheepish.

“It’s alright. When someone interacts with the A.R. part here, I’ve observed over time that my perception of the passage of time is skewed. I _know_  it’s been two days but it doesn’t feel like much time has passed at all. I suppose it’s the effect of slipping back into the entirety of the ark’s connections. I guess when I’m _here_  I’m still connected to the computers in the background, but not enough to actively pull up data files. Just enough to still run everything in the background.” The A.R.M.I.N. was clearly thinking aloud, figuring out answers about himself as he calculated. Jeez he talked a lot, Eren observed.

“Oh. Okay.” Is all Eren had in response to that. It seemed legitimate enough. A short, awkward silence ensued, but then the program’s expression energized again.

“Right. Just give me a second-” It phased out into darkness and a split second later it came back, voice once again more mechanical sounding as the hologram started back up, recovering from sinking back into the ark’s computers. “You seeked out Lieutenant Hanji to talk about me? “

“Yeah…” In that split second not only did the A.I.’s tone reach the more natural sounded levels it had before, but both of them peered into each other’s eyes, real or not, and tried to read each other. It didn’t even need to be said aloud that it meant Eren was troubled and fascinated with what he found enough to go hunt someone down other than the CPU himself. In the next second something started to break down; perhaps it was one no longer wanting to doubt his feelings and go with them, and the other becoming fascinated with his motives and what made him different. Both were uncertain in thought or calculation alike, but they both came back. But that was all unrecognized in the background of their minds.

“Lieutenant Hanji gave you all reasonable and correct answers. You understood that much, right?” The A.R.M.I.N. inquired. Eren simply nodded in response. “But to answer the question you asked right before you were interrupted, I think you’re having trouble accepting what I told you is true. I do have opinions that I have drawn myself from observation, _even if I’m a program_.” With A.R.M.I.N.’s strain on that last bit, Eren finally connected some of the dots. If he’d just get over that it’s A.R.M.I.N. and not a person that said those things two days ago, he’d be less inclined to feel confused about why the feelings were even there, and could move on to being confused about the actual feelings part. “I’ll clarify nonetheless. You regularly interact with the programs that draw upon my artificial intelligence. A.I.s have preferences because they can learn and grow thanks to experiences, as experience is merely observation. A series of preferences make a personality. However the computers that are hooked up to _me_  filter my opinions, like I said. _Right now_ you don't need anything that requires an aid of my utilities, so you’re interacting with my personality. Nothing else.”

“So… You’re pretty much a person… As long as you’re here and separated from the computers.” Jaeger spelled his thoughts and mental process aloud.

“Something like that, yes.” It affirmed.

_Okay. The computer is literally as close to an actual person as it gets in mind set. Sentience and all, as long as and only if it’s in this room._  Eren mentally summarized. At this point he was so sick of understanding something that was actually rather simple but muddling it up in his own head because of scepticism, that he thought something along the lines of “Fuck it.” and decided to think of A.R.M.I.N. as person here. Just imagine a human being sitting in the room with you. Okay that was a bit much, but everything clarified itself and it was done with. “Got it.” He pressed firmly.

“Great.” A.R.M.I.N. chirped, relieved the blatant tension from the other’s brainstorming was starting to alleviate. “So. What do you want to know?” Excitement filled his voice at a rapid pace. Eren’s eyes lit up at that, and the sour feeling in the air lifted instantly.

“Well what do you have stored away in that ‘on-hand’ important stuff memory of yours?”

“Practically all of the knowledge we practically have on Axiom. You won’t find it anywhere else too, it’s been lost with time and censorship.” It stated matter of factly, with a distinct tinge of irritation at humanity’s reasons for doing this, unbeknownst to both of them. “Doesn’t leave much room for other stuff, though, seeing it's a limited sector of my actual brain. The rest of my memories are accessible through external drives. I have to actually pick what’s important enough for me to preserve since the space for my on-hand memory is very limited compared to all the computers that do the actual program running and calculations.” A.R.M.I.N. trailed off, barely even audible in the first place when adding that extra comment.

“Well, how much _is_  that?” Eren said, astonished.

“We’d be here all day.”

“I don’t care. Uh… tell me about those ‘ocean ecosystems’. You like those, right?” Eren honestly didn’t care. There was that much to know, and he didn’t have any preferences on what part of Axiom he liked yet.

“The ocean’s my favorite!” The amazement in his barely robotic voice clearly began to build. “Okay… A large proportion of all life on Axiom exists in the ocean, and how large the proportion is unknown, since many ocean species are still to be discovered! The habitats studied in marine biology include everything from the tiny layers of surface water in which organisms and abiotic items may be trapped in surface tension between the ocean and atmosphere, to the depths of the oceanic trenches, sometimes ten thousand meters or more beneath the surface of the ocean!” The program obviously obsessed over this in whatever way he could exercise.

“It’s that deep?” Eren stated with absolute shock at the ground. It was just unbelievable, and sent this kid-like wonder surging through his veins. It was fantastic having something that shared a burning passion and curiosity as well.

“Uh huh! It’s different then lakes, though. Because the whole thing has a ton of salt mixed into it.”

“That would be incredible! All of it’s tremendously rationed and controlled now, so everyone would want a ton when we get there. Don’t you think the merchants association would try to get all of it first and control the pricing?” His inner sceptic was revealing itself again.

“Nope! There’s so much that no one group of people couldn’t take all of it. Not even a decent fraction of it all.”

“It must be huge then. The whole planet is then, too! Man, I can’t even believe it-” Eren began to look up at the other with a lazy unbelieving smile when he saw the hologram. Eren had sat down right next to the projector’s base earlier and faced it when they were talking. It had adjusted its “position” so it was leaning it over the empty space between the two, mimicking him, and the holograms expression was hard to describe. The _awe and wonder_  showed through bright sparkling eyes and the darker blue flush in his face transcended the capabilities of the projector. It was so lifelike. Without even realizing it, Eren was completely awestruck by the other’s blatant passion, he just started into the hologram’s big expressive eyes with his own mouth slightly agape, his own face inches away from the light’s. It didn’t even make him uncomfortable, because there was something about him in that precise moment that was unplaceable and magic. Everything clicked, and he could say without a doubt despite how weird it sounded that he was friends with A.R.M.I.N..

The program was slower to conclude such things, but despite how illogical and impossible it seemed, it felt an attachment to the teenager. Everything that was transpiring was impossible and shouldn’t be happening, _but it was_. A.R.M.I.N. was well aware what the attachment was called; friendship, and it took no hesitance in giving Eren that label. An additional knowing glance confirmed their conclusions without a single word between the two. It just didn’t feel like it needed to be said. Jaeger grinned broadly and sat up back into a straighter position, urging the other to keep talking.

A.R.M.I.N. _did_  keep talking, for hours infact. But it didn’t matter, time seemed to flow in a pace where it wasn’t even there, and the world stopped. The teen’s attention span and patients seemed to grow for him, and he continued to listen attentively and ask questions. The program was just getting to how coastlines were sometimes laced with cliffs, sometimes nearly a kilometer tall, and how giant waves would rumble and crash against them with dazing forces.

“I just- and yet there’s so much we all still don’t know yet!” A.R.M.I.N. exclaimed when Eren’s watch began to beep. God damnit.  Both of their expressions drooped, one knowing and the other figuring that it meant he had to leave. Both looking at each other, they shared a couple blinks and a drawn out sigh.

“I’ll try to come back next Tuesday. Maybe before that, depending on the training schedule.” Eren had to take training _and_  Mikasa into account since he cornered himself with that lie about how he didn’t even want to talk about robots for a long time.

“I won’t perceive it, but the sooner the better.” He stated with an assuring nod. “I’d hate it if I made you late to wherever you’re going, especially since it’s one of my jobs making sure you’re on time. I mean, how _useless_  would I be if I did that?”

“Still pretty damn useful. People should get to their appointments on time with a clock alone.” Eren stood up and stretched.

“I suppose” A.R.M.I.N. chuckled.

“Alright, I’ll be back as soon as possible. I promise.”

“Bye, Eren.”

“Bye, A.R.M.I.N.” He slowly left the room, seeing the hologram slowly phasing back into black out of the corner of his eye as the door slid shut behind him. He hummed with only partial satisfaction, thanks to the fact he was cut off early. Still, the good feelings that buzzed around his brain made him feel like the experience would be one that he would remember for a long time. Eren took the time to give special attention to the rout back to the A.R.O.C.. this time, 100% certain he _would_ be using it a lot.

 


	4. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate to learn more about the oceans and Axiom, Eren visits A.R.M.I.N. once more. However, a trip up in one casual statement leads the two to an entanglement that should never have happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in this chapter. (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. THIS ESPECIALLY APPLIES TO THIS CHAPTER, BECAUSE I JUST HAPPENED TO BE RIGHT SINCE I WATCHED EPISODE ONE. I am way too proud about this, so if you don't believe me, fight me.) 
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 4: written Jan. 3-Jan. 4th 2014

Chapter 04 DRAFT

The week that passed between the last visit and the one that was going to happen today didn’t go by fast at all. That painfully slow passage of time could mostly be blamed on that Eren just wasn’t allowed to talk about what he had learned. Sure expressing the desire for knowledge was annoying yet harmless, but actually knowing stuff from an “unknown source” and talking about it would be incredibly suspicious to his peers. It was even worse considering what he knew was “censored” information, as A.R.M.I.N. called it, so he was worried that if he did slip anything, he could potentially be dragged away by the Police Coordinate. If he did tell his peers about his conversations, would that be illegal? How much trouble would he get in? Ah jeez. The _worst_  part for Eren was interacting with the A.R.M.I.N. on a regular basis, because every time it spoke up, the suppressed excitement he felt would bubble up, only to be disappointed by the clearly more automated responses and replies and the slightly more mechanical tone in it’s voice. One time around five days in, he broke and asked the A.I. what coral reefs were to see if in some stroke of luck it would be unfiltered and maybe even magically unlock the entirety of the programs consciousness, like some dumb fairytale the preschools would tell. All he got was a response saying such data was expunged and that he should check his local data bank center. He tried there too and “no such thing as a reef exists”, apparently. Maybe if he ever got the chance after the A.I. told him all he could about the new world, he could ask why the hell humanity seemed so intent on locking up these amazing secrets to the public, because he certainly didn’t see any logical explanation for it.

At least today was finally here, and all he had to do was get out of bed and start walking. Mikasa was gone as expected, he was going to learn more about the world, possibly about why the government was being so weird, and possibly about the program’s personality, so all was right with being alive right now. However when Eren looked at the clock, he quickly noticed he slept in a few hours! Arg, he forgot to set an early alarm again, and now his time was cut short! Once again he went through his morning routine, except at a quicker pace than normal, then headed out the door with the same old ration allotment and a small bottle of water. Good thing it had a cap though, Eren mused, otherwise it could spill and fry his- it’s- _his_  circuits. Oh what the hell, if it was the next best thing to a human being it might as well be a “he”. Maybe Hanji Zoe wasn’t as crazy as he presumed at first, after all, she has been working with A.R.M.I.N. for years.

Jaeger worked the maze of corridors with determination and intense mental focus, digging up week old and unpracticed directions to the A.R.O.C.. For the third time he slipped inside the room, awaiting the cool aerated embrace of the room’s atmosphere. He enjoyed the peaceful silence that only one visit ago put him on edge before quickly getting down to business and wasting no additional time.

“A.R.M.I.N.” His voice cut through the air like a blade. The hologram once again started up facing the wrong way. “I’m over here.” He directed, and immediately the hologram whipped around in a blur of fuzz to face him, a small smile spreading on his face instantly. It was strange how natural his responses were to the slightest change in a human’s behavior, and how it learned and grew each time they talked. Technological advancement was dazzling even to a kid of the future.

“Eren. It’s been a week already?”

“Already.” Eren parroted making air quotes with his fingers. “I thought you said you only kind of perceived the passage of time.”

“I do, but hang on a second.” The program commanded, tone still timid at the same time somehow. He did the same thing as the previous two visits, disappearing momentarily to gather _everything_  his friend had been up to in the last week, taking full advantage of his omnipresence and sorting through all his activities to find the good stuff. He was mostly searching for things Eren did in regards to himself in his week long absence, but what could he do? Sure it could be regarded as incredibly nosey, but he had an insatiable desire for knowledge and the teenager’s fascination with him and what he said was fascinating itself.

“Do you have to do that? ...Look up exactly what I’ve been up to since the last time I would see you, I mean.” Eren cut him off as he phased back in and before he could blatantly announced whatever highlight event he had done that week.

“No, I don’t _have_  to, but it’s way more time efficient in the sense that we won’t have to play catch up.” The program stated matter-of-factly.

“I suppose…” The A.I. had him there, so he slumped down and sat on the floor with a tinge of defeat.

“Anyway, I don’t see the logic in trying to test if you can try to talk to me with unfiltered response by somehow magically breaking the filter with the mention of my interests.” A.R.M.I.N.’s face suddenly went solemn as he spoke, mouth pursing into a tight line when he finished.

“Hey I never said-!”

“No, you didn’t, but it’s also pretty obvious that’s what you were trying to do, because what else would one be trying to do giving a program commands to give information that technically shouldn’t exist, even when one was _told_  any replies are, and always will be, filtered?” He chastised while Eren was trying to interject, but he kept talking. “I guess I can understand where you’re coming from, but what you did was dangerous. The Police Coordinate could drag you away for having information like that, depending on what you did with it and how seditious the crime was. I thought it didn’t need saying before, but the information you know now is taboo for a reason. I promised your sister I wouldn’t let you die, automatic patient family assurance protocol or not, but I want to adhere to that myself. I don’t want you to be taken away because what I told you…” A.R.M.I.N. trailed off, looking rather distraught. What he _didn’t_ say was that some of the brass already wanted him chopped into little pieces, he certainly wouldn’t tell Eren _why_ , and holding info like that certainly wouldn’t help his cause. Sure, he had the gene, but it turned out there was more to Eren Jaeger then just being the answer to the imminent danger that would wipe out humanity before they escaped the nebula. It was all the more reason to keep him out of trouble.

“Okay. I won’t try something like that again.” Eren recognized the stupidity in what he did as the program spoke, despite the initial urges to try such a thing, so he promised he wouldn’t.

“Of course I’m to blame as well because I _could_  keep my mouth shut, but I just don’t want to... despite the fact that I’m just entangling you in this.” Both figured the other was okay with it anyway, because one wanted to talk to someone who cared and would listen, and the other wanted to listen to someone who cared enough to talk. So there wasn’t anything to change except for that Eren had to conceal his frustrations completely.

“I think I can handle myself. I can keep my mouth shut, I mean, I have to in this case.” Jaeger assured, which despite some hesitance at first seemed to put A.R.M.I.N. at ease. He looked over at the hologram, which had lowered itself while he wasn’t looking again so they could be at “eye level”, and impulsively tried to comfort the intelligence by clapping a hand on his shoulder, but stopped himself before he did as much as twitch. _Damnit, it’s ethereal, remember?_ A long pause ensued in the conversation, and Eren mentally scolded himself for letting some lifelike computer display trick him like that. Picturing if he didn’t stop his impulse, his hand would have just swung right through the light’s shoulder at full momentum, causing extreme embarrassment.

In reality however, the program would have just found it incredibly amusing, and would probably scrutinize the teen further and pick apart why he would subconsciously try to do that. In fact, A.R.M.I.N. kept it to himself, but he analyzed everything he did while they would talk, calculating how he would react to certain things said, and apply it in ways that would _keep_ his jaw wide open. The program found his predictable displays of emotion and attachments to all the right things kind of endearing. That effect was only exacerbated by that he was the only one who would come back consistently, but that wasn’t either of their concern at the moment.

“...I just don’t want to wait any longer to get there, but even with the Titans trying to destroy us, we all have to wait.” Eren said as he looked back at the hologram fully recovered from that mishap. He looked back with a sad, small, and understanding smile.

“Mhmm… It’s not just the sea or it’s mountains of salt, either. There’s flaming waters called oil in pools underground, landscapes of ice in the tundras, entire fields of _sand_ in the deserts!” The same flush and energy that Eren saw last week was easily gaining momentum, as if the the conversation never stopped from it’s stupendous grip. Said grip held him in an amazed stupor once again. A large smile crept up on the teenager.

“The new world…” He said to himself as he stared at the ground again.

“Eren!” The program’s voice swelled with energy, which grabbed his attention and made him look at the hologram again. He looked like he was about to _cry_  thanks to how dilated his eyes were. Not out of sadness, but a mixture of yearning, amazement, realization, and happiness, of all things. “If we could explore… If only we could see it for ourselves someday…” The A.I. wished slowly and shakily. Eren, who was at first delighted by the idea of making it past the Titans and getting to do that with a rush of exhilaration, had a sense of uncomfort creep down his spine with the sudden realization of two obvious contradictions. The one where they would have to get out of the nebula alive first was an assumption that didn’t even need to be voiced. Brows knit and mouth tight, he drew attention to the second issue with care.

“...You said ‘we’. I understand that you love these topics a lot and find them fascinating here in your unbridled conscience, but how are you going to explore? Sensors around the ship? Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of taking you with me, but you’re kind of stuck… Here…” It was an obvious thing to point out. Looking around uneasily, the hologram’s expression shifted rapidly from confusion to panic to frustration to deep thought, and settled on concern with raised brows and gently gnawed his lip. His voice when he spoke up next was positively sheepish and slightly higher pitched than normal.

“Well…” A.R.M.I.N. began, followed by a silence that was made by the refusal to explain further.

“Well what?” Eren inquired while awkwardly shifting positions where he sat. A deep sigh escaped the nearby speakers along with the image of him running his fingers through his flowy hair. He needed to give an explanation for his explanation first.

“If I give reasoning for this, as weird as this sounds, you need to swear that you won’t tell a soul. I trust you enough, but I will hold you responsible for anything that happens.” A.R.M.I.N.’s tone was grave and dead serious. “It’s nothing that would get _you_ in trouble, but the calculated outcomes of this include Miss Hanji losing her job, courts being filled, the news going nuts, activists going berserk, ...and possibly albeit very slim odds; starting a civil war because of the implications the truth would mean to the public at large.”

“ _Oh._ ” Where the hell did Eren even start? He already knew enough and hasn’t gotten anyone killed yet, right? The tantalizing idea of possibly traveling with this… embodiment of his dreams, was messing with his ability to make rational decisions, even if he lacked that ability in the first place. “Yeah- Uh- Sure? I swear I won’t be responsible for a war…” Jaeger was concerning himself over how easily he made that decision. Was he about to be drafted into the secret services? He held his breath with anticipation as the hologram’s fuzzy eyes peered into his very soul with judgement. Then with a look of extraordinarily deep thought, A.R.M.I.N. just spit his explanation out in a flurry of honesty and timidity.

“I’m- I’m a person whose brain is hooked up to external computers, and my body is in cryogenic stasis to preserve myself.” He flourished the end with a squeak. Eren snapped out his words in raw reaction without thinking.

“ _WHAT_?” The tone was dazed if anything. “You’re a brain in a jar or something?” But soon his voice settled to loud and panicked with the very thought.

“Huh? No!” The conversation quickly deteriorated into a rapidfire interrogation.

“But you’ve been here forever!”

“One, my brain is in my body. Two, thanks to the cryostasis, I haven’t aged physically, and the fact that no one ever talks to _me_ , I haven’t mentally matured past a fifteen year old!”

“Then how long have you been a popsicle?!” It was crass and tactlessly handled, but still a question. The “fifteen years old” part had flown over Eren’s head for the meantime.

“I- Since the beginning of the trip. So my date stamp would say nine hundred ninety eight years.” A.R.M.I.N.’s expression reflected his mood and seeped with awkwardness.

“But that means they put a teenager in control of the lives of all humanity!” Eren spat with something akin to outrage. “Who would even think to- Why?” He strained. This is what A.R.M.I.N. meant by knowledge starting a war. A teenager controlled _everything_. All that A.R.M.I.N. was saying was being memorized, but nothing was sinking into his mind because of the turbulent conversation. They both needed to collect themselves, but didn’t.

“I was _kind of_  initially chosen to be integrated into the ship because basically the engineer that designed the ship’s technical systems said I was smart enough to handle the external hardware, and the original captain liked my set of morals…”

“Morals? What morals are found in locking up a guy for a thousand years, stuffing him into a omnipotent computer system, and leaving the actual person with human needs to rot alone in the dark!?” The anger in Jaeger’s voice became more and more obvious as a sudden streak of protectiveness revealed itself.

“I know what you must be thinking, but it’s okay! I chose this, honestly.” The disembodied voice tried to calm the ball of rage next to him.

“Huh?” What the actual hell was that guy thinking. The program sighed.

“...I knew that when the end of Earth drew near, with all of it’s pollution and nuclear fallout, I wanted to see what life was _supposed_  to be like… To experience the real thing. Becoming A.R.M.I.N. was the only chance I had to see that… But as time passed and I became more involved in my ‘duties’, it became more and more about seeing the actual world, as I got to observe humanity all I wanted...” He soothed in a melancholy tone, recalling those last moments being conscious quietly and to himself.

However Eren felt like he was being kicked in the gut with “Sympathy” brand boots, and the urges to comfort the _person_  that controlled A.R.M.I.N. were intensifying and making him mildly uncomfortable. “You’re even okay with being censored and filtered all the time?”

“I understand the necessity of it, for keeping a purely logical lense while guiding and making decisions for humanity is crucial for the greater good. I concluded a while ago that change for the better can’t come without being willing to make sacrifice, anyway.”

“I guess…” The teen said, finally starting to cool off, blankly staring at the holograms appearance for reasons he couldn’t quite place. His mind wandered with questions floating around. “So how’d you manage to get on the ark in the first place? We all learned that the first generation of travelers were either filthy rich or humanity’s best in their fields.” He wouldn’t be surprised if it was for his intellect and strategic planning, considering that all of the decisions were at least partially made by the guy.

“My grandpa actually worked directly for the designer and planner who came up with the grand scheme for the arks, so initially I wasn’t going to be allowed on, but when I… volunteered for my occupation, the commander liked me enough.”

“Okay…” Another long pause ensued so Eren could let everything he learned today begin to sink in just a tad further. “So… do _you_  have a real name?” The hologram chuckled like he was about to tell a sick joke.

“It’s Armin.”

“Seriously.” Jaeger dead panned.

“Yeah. ‘Hebrew’ in origin. The program was designed around me, so my grandpa was nice enough to integrate that much of myself into the final product.” He explained as much as he knew. The other teen only nodded with a dazed expression.

“So where’s your body then?” Eren asked. Armin only looked at him distrustfully, like the other was already planning to bust him out without thinking.

“Every ark has it’s designated Operations Chamber, and I’m being cryogenically stored where it’s safest on Ark Sina in a separate room directly off of it, which is locked and _can only be opened by officials_.”

“Oh come on-”

The watch went off again, and it’s abrasive outcry shattered how time was passing for the two. The expected disgruntled reactions took place, and after an expansive bout of self loathing and arguing, they said their _long_  goodbyes, and Eren made his way back. Except he didn’t go to lunch, he went straight to his room and flopped into his bed and stared at the ceiling in shock. Eren had a _lot_  to think about.

 


	5. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth shakes Eren into another visit, which of course, only brings more surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in this chapter. (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 5: written Jan. 5-Jan. 9th 2014

Chapter 05 DRAFT

Rubbing his eyes, Eren was still lying in bed, and the overload of information he had perceived prior to landing on his mattress made time move slowly and thoughts fly incredibly fast. For the first five minutes all he could think was different versions of “Why do I have to wait until Thursday?”. But still… Armin was a _person_. He was a person with hopes, dreams, interests, aspirations, preferences, goals, and opinions. Now that he knew the whats and hows, all he could think about now were the whys. Sure it had only been 9 days, but Eren enjoyed his personality enough to want to learn more about the things that separates an A.I. for a human. Human… at least being friends with a human wasn’t nearly as weird as being friends with a computer like he presumed before today. Human… Human… Human! It finally struck the teenager what that implied, overlooking it because he was so used to being one himself that he forgot what basic features it had. He had a body which meant they _could_  see Axiom together! He had never agreed to Armin’s proposition earlier, and now he’d give so much to head over there right now and tell him “Yes.” over and over and talk more about what they would see together. But he had to wait until Thursday, and this made him audibly groan.

Slowly enough a small smile crept it’s way onto Eren’s face as he begun to imagine what traveling would be like and seeing the ocean in person with Mikasa, Armin, and himself. Oh gosh, maybe in two years he could introduce Armin to his peers when there wouldn’t be a need for the systems he was hooked up to. Eren would also make sure that no one would give him a hard time just because of his background or personal… grudges people would hold against him. Jaeger tried to picture it in his mind, but it was difficult to do because… Huh. What _did_  Armin look like? Was there even a point in guessing though? The likelihood of him being right was slim, being based on just a guess. Great, another thing that he wanted to ask his friend desperately the next time he visited.

Couldn’t he just skip practice today and go after lunch? Eren really contemplated that option for a whole ten seconds before ditching it, because he understood that he had two years to tell Armin that, and a limited unknown quantity of practices before his first actual expedition into the deadly vacuums of space to fight Titans. Eren wanted and _needed_  to prioritize, because what good would he be if he was killed in his first battle without making a single dent against the enemy? Thinking so much about the topic of practice also made him realize that there’s been a potential change in his behavior visible to his sister and peers already, so he made a mental pact to stay out of the clouds and he wouldn’t let this interfere with his life, for two years was too long to suffer. Jaeger just had to go to lunch, then practice, and so on… one foot in front of the other. Forgetting about Armin until then shouldn’t be hard, right? He only had one friend before Armin, and he got by just fine.

Time passed, and the usual shenanigans took place, so slowly but surely life went on normally thanks to Eren having the willpower of an ox. On Thursday Eren made sure to not sleep in this time, and made his way to the A.R.O.C. without any loligagging and traveled in an almost business manner as he maneuvered the halls. Once again he made his inside and got Armin’s attention, said their greetings, and once again Armin took advantage of his omnipresence.

“I see you’ve managed to keep your promise for two days.” It was a serious subject matter yet the hologram’s expression had the tiniest smirk to it, thanks to how he was ruminating on how Eren was so transparent in his feelings even why he tried to cover them, so it was a relieving and pleasant surprise.

“Well I _had_  to, didn’t I?” Eren retorted, and Armin nodded in silence. Of course there was no reason for Armin to trust Eren as much as he did, so he had every reason to doubt him, because trust was something one built overtime. Besides, there were things Eren had been waiting to discuss, and he wanted to end the stagnant film that was developing over the conversation. “So- uh- Since we were both freaking out at each other last time, I never really got to realize the implications of what you told me were when we were still talking. So I’d like to tell you that I’d _really love_ to take you up on what you said, and travel and explore with you.” He stated while another grin made itself apparent on his face. The other’s smile bloomed faster than Eren’s. Even if the timing of the conversation was off beat, it still made a huge impact on him.

“That’s great! I know the statement was rather sudden and non-sequitor, but I know I meant what I said.” He said just a tad shyly.

“Yeah… Also what you told me about yourself and your offer got me thinking, and…” Eren began speaking rockily, tripping over his words slightly as he questioned why this felt so awkward while he spoke.

“And what?” What the other said piqued Armin’s curiosity, most likely due to the fact he was curious as to what would cause Eren to think about him _and_  be nervous about bringing it up now.

“I’m just curious about what you look like, you know, your physical body.” The teen’s toes were curling in his sneakers. Ugh it was just a question, and he asked way more brazen things without a second thought. Why the hell was this difficult? Was he scared of offending Armin? The very thought was strange, especially given Eren’s crass reputation with everyone he knew.

“Oh.” No one had asked Armin that before. “Well I don’t have a convenient picture on file, so a verbal description will have to suffice.” He explained, and Jaeger nodded in reply. Both of them took the opportunity to sit down, actually doing so or otherwise, and assumed, what was at that point the “serious discussion”, positions. No directly staring into each other’s faces like normal, but staring at some imaginary horizon upon the wall. “So I’m…” a confused expression commandeered Armin’s expression “So, I guess I’m… No- wait- hang on-” His tone shifted rapidly into one of frustration and some panic.

“What’s wro-”

“They _don’t_ keep this stuff in the data banks, so it _has_ to be in my on-hand memory.” Armin’s breathing grew shallower.

“When you say ‘on-hand’ you mean your actual memories, right?” Eren offered.

“ _Yes_  but in order to let my own body function as a superconductor, the part of my brain that stores memories is shared with an external drive, so it limits space compared to how normally a mind’s ability to learn is infinite. My physical brain is that limited on-hand memory." He explained rapidly. "So things I learn recently as I interact are fine _in theory_ , perhaps because they’re observed in third person and thus automatically stored _externally_." He gasped.  "The memories gained before merging with the system are more susceptible I _think_. I can’t even be _sure_ anymore, it’s been nearly a millenium and the one thousand years of computing technology developed before the arks even left was so complex in algorithm and biotechnology, it’s difficult to grasp!” He was babbling at this point about increasingly hard to understand topics, and more so only thinking aloud than explaining, so it was hard for Eren to understand what he was saying. “No… Wait, I’m going to perform a broad scan. Give me a second.” and without even giving Eren a chance to say anything Armin dove back into the digital sea of systems, leaving the room dark and feeling hollow.

Eren couldn’t tell if the panic expressed beforehand shook his brain into perceiving the silence like it was minutes, or he was actually gone that long. His eyes darted around the dark room, waiting for the light of the hologram to ease his nerves, but nothing was happening and it was putting him on edge. He kept waiting, and just when he looked at his watch to find it had only been dark for a minute or so, an outraged “ _Are you kidding me?!_ ” shattered the silence with so much mechanical interference it garbled Armin’s voice almost past recognition.

“Armin!?” Jaeger screeched, caught so badly off guard by the other losing his collected demeanor that he nearly pissed himself. The hologram didn’t start up, but the surrounding speakers continued to speak.

“I can’t remember at all.”

“Huh? I thought you said you still had your memories of before you merged!”

“Yes, but only bits and fragments. _I think._ ” He began, some of the mechanical overtones finally easing to normal levels, but not to what Eren was accustomed to in the A.R.O.C.. “I chose to keep the information on Axiom as I realized it was becoming lost with time and politics, and put the rest of them in the external drive.” The self loathing in his voice was more than obvious, and concern washed over Eren like a tsunami. “I remember some of my past… but it feels so impersonal… And there's so little, I can't even tell if it's really there...” The voice rapidly saddened and regained it’s humanity. Armin didn't remember interacting with people before Eren that well when his conscious was unshackled. He wasn't merged at the moment, and he was too emotionally compromised to bother checking how far back his memories _as_ A.R.M.I.N. went. 

The teen had no idea what to do or say at the moment, and it puzzled him. “I’m sorry…” Is all he could offer. The hologram, albeit slow to start up, finally appeared showing Armin hunched over deep in thought with his chin resting on his hands. Much to Eren’s dismay, the same pang of urgency grabbed him and made him want to comfort Armin again. He didn’t even get why, and he certainly wasn’t actively trying to figure it out as he listened to the other. Maybe if he was still a kid, he’d go with it, but when he became a teen he learned along with everyone else that trying to touch other people you just met wasn’t okay anymore.

“Such a dumb mistake… Nonetheless, I made that decision to keep that information over my own at the time, even if I don't know where it went. I can still say that it was for the best in everyone’s interest, so it’s okay.” Armin stated with an almost determined look on his face. If there was one thing that was certain, Armin would stick to his morals and beliefs no matter what people said. That was pretty admirable to the other person sitting in the room.

“At least you’ll find out for certain soon. Two years isn’t much compared to nine hundred and ninety eight.” Eren offered.

“True. It’s a silly thing to fret over anyway. What’s done is done.” A small pause ensued.

“Well if your grandpa managed to have your name integrated, is it possible that the hologram model they designed for you is close to or is a match?” He asked while looking over to the light’s bare form and taking in his basic features.

“... I can’t think of any reason for the designers to change it, especially since this model isn’t practical yet it does have it’s necessity. So it’s likely this is pretty close.” Armin said, his mood finally improving.

“That’s good.” And with that, the topic was dropped.

Nothing else besides the usual conversation about Axiom happened for the remainder of Eren’s allotted time. Despite the emotional bump in the visit, Eren was satisfied with it and left with a content feeling in his chest.

Later that night while the usual state of inactivity spread itself over the living districts of the arks, Eren tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep thanks to the steady stream of unanswerable questions that passed through his brain. He wondered what Armin thought of him, because even though Armin got along with him and Armin seemed to get along with him, he couldn’t help but think of what impression he made. The guy obviously was more in tune to people’s behavior, so there was no telling what he observed about Eren. There was also the location of Armin’s body. Was it protected enough to resist a Titan attack? The thought of Armin dying before they even reached Axiom and that there was no way that Armin could defend himself sent a chill through Eren’s spine. But the thought of why he felt so strongly towards Armin, all these urges to protect him and care for him and why the thought of his death earned an equal reaction to the thought of Mikasa dying even though he had known him for far less time, never came close to crossing his mind. They were all dismissed as the feelings of friendship before they could even develop in his brain, because in his mind they were feelings of friendship.

Then there was also his imagination that kept him up. Trying to imagine meeting Armin and exploring with him continued to lead to trying to imagine what he looked like. At least he had a clue at this point. Armin had longer hair, big eyes, thick eyebrows, and a kind of frail build. He was really smart too even without being hooked up to computers, Eren noted. Those were the extent of his thoughts, but he was certainly thankful for the person they were about.


	6. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The knowledge Eren learns about A.R.M.I.N. effects him in ways that he never asked for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it looks strange, but everything's explained in this chapter. (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 6: written Jan. 10-Jan. 12th 2014

Chapter 06 DRAFT

The following weeks passed as what Eren could describe as relatively normal, and eventually turned into several months since Eren started training with the Galactic Recon Corps and found his best friend Armin. The 104th was going to start practicing Ark jumping in a couple days. During this time, without even paying attention to it, Eren and Armin’s bond progressively grew and blossomed to the point where they felt they could tell each other anything. All teenagers need someone they could confide in and feel safe around, and Armin was just that. They just understood each other well and it vastly improved Jaeger’s mood overall compared to how quiet he was before, and how much he just sulked around people whenever they’d do something complacent. Knowledge was enlightening and empowering, which in turn gave him a proclivity to speak out, as long as he didn’t break his promise, against what he felt was wrong. Overall the shift in his _external_ demeanor became prominent to his peers, and it drew some like Thomas and Connie somewhat closer because of the subtle inspiration he gave them, and some like Jean farther away. Mikasa, who only had her brother’s best interest in mind, enjoyed that he wasn’t sulking much anymore, but was suspicious of its reasons for happening. She was partially correct in it being due to practicing and training in the Recons, but she worried that he was becoming more brash than before and hated the idea of getting himself hurt Of course she defaulted to blaming Corporal Levi.

In their conversations, the two would talk than more than just Axiom. They would tell each other stories from their memories. Eren told Armin about how one time he woke in the middle of the night and saw an interstellar whale on the screen that displayed what would be right outside his window, if he could have one. Then there was also confiding in Armin the mysterious nightmares that he had sometimes, and how he would sometimes wake up in a panic with tears in his eyes, unable to remember anything. Armin said he would try to wake him from those since he kept track of people’s vital signs 24/7, but he also explained he _couldn’t_  because of the filtering that made him unable to wake anyone except for medical reasons or emergencies. Eren appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. Armin told Eren about what Earth was like, and how despite it was dying around him with warfare and pollution, he saw the people around him both be amazing and terrible at the same time with how they coped. He told him about how he observed people lash out against him because they knew they were wrong. He explained how humanity was strange and arrogant sometimes, and was internally thankful that _those_  memories were rather detached emotionally thanks to his fatal error with drive organization. He also explained the origins of everyday customs that Eren used, that society has always fallen into repeating patterns despite environmental and generational gaps. Traditions never really leave, they morph and stay around so long in the background that they become everyday life and it’s normal everywhere.

It felt wrong to Eren that he couldn’t have done something about the bullying at the time, wishing he could have just told off the assholes that would torment him. It was even worse for both of them with Armin’s realization that he didn’t know what feeling with own body was like as well. It seemed that the memories of warmth, pressure, texture, and other things had slipped with time. It was conversations and admissions like these that really let the two get to know each other.

Over time Eren would notice more little things and quirks as he really got to know Armin as well. Armin’s expression would light up not with a smile, but his mouth would fall open when he heard something that would connect the dots for an idea he was brewing. When he laughed too hard he’d snort, which would send Eren himself into a tailspin of laughter. He would get this devious little smirk if he could guess what Eren was going to say before he even said it. Armin also was guilty of finding particularly terrible puns hysterical, which his friend would occasionally pull when the mood was already light. His brows would furrow in thin creases when in thought, but when he was trying to figure something out with an astounding amount of variables, he’d just stare into space with his eyes slightly more open than normal. When Armin got really mentally exhausted he didn't get particularly grumpy or quiet, he just tried to behave normally but his speech slurred and he spaced out without realizing and he _was_  just an awkward struggling mess until he finally gave in and enjoyed Eren’s company. Despite these things fueling the need to meet Armin in person, Eren never managed to _actively_  see these things, and would just store them away as the general amalgamation that formed Eren’s mental picture of him. It was like his face just sort of became him, his personality was just written all over it, and he slowly turned into something so comforting and beautiful to Eren. It was all in the most oblivious sense that the two thought about each other constantly with such affection, and continued to stay that way.

Eren was once again tossing and turning upon his mattress again on a Saturday night. The thought of the _potential_  (he had heard rumors) for learning ark jumping in practice already on Wednesday morning made him nervous and excited at the same time. It was fantastic that he got to learn these things, but he also heard that ark jumping was incredibly dangerous, seeing that normally a soldier leaned that move after a year of training. Eren had been enrolled for only half of that time. The whole purpose of that maneuver was so they could quickly jump to another ark and give renforcement to other squads if their own base ark was being attacked. If Ark Sina was attacked… A cold chill ran down Eren’s spine with the thought of all the innocent life that could be lost to the vacuum of space, their bodies never being recovered because they were eaten by Titans. At least there were air locks everywhere and people could flee. However the re-realization that Armin couldn’t even flee if he wanted to made Eren’s eyes shoot open. Most likely his compartment would be torn open by one of the bastards, and he would fly into the depths of space being crushed by the metal of his cryochamber succumbing to the internal pressures created by the vacuum of the outside.

“No no no no…” He muttered to himself as he flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. What could he do to protect Armin from that? He would have the ability to protect him through the moves he learned, but that wasn’t _his_ job. But then how would it be guaranteed Armin would be safe? It wouldn’t, and he would never get to see Axiom if he died. _Who was he to take that away from him?_  That was it. Eren swore aloud quietly and to himself that he would make sure Armin would be safe. He would protect Armin, because Armin wanted freedom more than anyone else on the arks.That way he and best friends could explore together and their dreams would be reality. That way Eren could finally meet him and Armin would know what it was like to feel with his own fingertips again. That way Eren would know what he was really like physically and mentally, and actually meet him for the very first time.

Jaeger sighed as the list of “that way” turned into a mental reenactment. Eren would meet him, and give him the largest bearhug… The teen’s mouth scrunched because it was still hard for Eren do get any satisfaction from his imagination, thanks to the fact he could never solidify what Armin would actually look like. Of course whatever he guessed could be wrong, but he could still entertain what could be likely… To start, he would go through what he’d observed countless times, as he did often when he couldn’t sleep. Armin had longer hair. It was probably really soft just because of how _floaty_  the hologram made it look. At Least the hologram model in the A.R.O.C. didn’t make his hair semi-transparent, which looked way less natural. Perhaps it would be Auburn? Yeah, that way it could be the color of the soil Armin had described to him. He had big, bright, expressive eyes that _could_  be green like foliage. Eren also noted his thick and masculine eyebrows, and his build that was kind of frail. Perhaps his skin would be paler than his own because of one thousand years with no real sunlight, unless they had something to combat that. There was also his upturned nose, which was particularly endearing. For some reason, Eren’s gut told him Armin would be taller than himself, unsure by exactly how much. Armin also seemed like the type of guy to wear a button up collared shirt. Yeah that seemed possible.

Satisfied with that, Eren went along with the mental image he created, and imagined meeting him more successfully than normal. It was wonderful for him even if his brain would trip up and he’d have to start over again many times. Eventually the teen fell asleep, even though he was already dreaming.

Eren woke up with a start incredibly disoriented and warm in the face. It was still dark out, and he wasn’t sure why he had woken up in the first place. Rubbing his face with his palm, he realized he had been dreaming before he woke, but he couldn’t remember about what. He sat up and tried to remember what it was before it slipped, but it came way more easily than he wanted. Something about a wanting for closeness, tender yet heated touches,... and lips that were fuller and softer than his own... _Oh_ … It was all really blurry, but nonetheless the heat in Jaeger’s face exploded. Who was… Eren couldn’t place anything.

“Eren! My readings show an unusually rapid heart rate. Are you feeling okay?” The A.R.M.I.N. interrupted his train of thought. Eren’s eyes shot wide open with everything making sense suddenly in a flurry of panic. It was the little announcement beep that went off to announce the A.R.M.I.N.’s presence that woke him in the first place, but what sent Eren off the edge of calm was how the A.I’s familiar voice was recognizable even in the fuzz. It snapped the dream into perfect clarity. He and his idealistic vision of _Armin_  were standing together in a field of tall and lush grasses, looking into the horizon. They talked about how much they missed each other everyday even though they talked so often, and _other_   things through painfully slow admissions and sheepish coughs. Then they turned to look at one another, fully flushed in the face, and held each other in their arms. He thought Armin smelled so nice and real when he buried his head into his own shoulder, and his skin was soft. But then he looked Armin straight in the eyes, they were both reading each other’s intents like open books, and- and- slowly and impulsively closed the gap between their faces, and kissed. However it wasn’t just a soft and chaste one, oh no, Eren’s brain had to go overboard with latent desires and soon it was hot, desperate, and did not stop for the fear that they’d have to wait again.

The whole thing flew by in Eren’s mind within a couple of seconds, for he was living something close to a flashback. He wasn’t even listening to the A.I. because he was too busy. Even when the recalling of his dream ended, he still wasn’t paying attention, for his brain went into a confused frenzy.

“FUCK!” was all the teenager could manage as threw himself further against the mattress and gripped and pulled his hair with both hands, also covering his eyes with his palms. The program took this as a cause of concern, and concluded the irrational display of emotion was because he had interrupted Eren’s rest.

“I don’t think that is helpful for you at the moment. You need to calm down. I disturbed your peace because I am concerned for your well being, given symptoms of your brain aneurysm progressing further. Eren. Are you okay?”

Eren sure _felt_  like he was having a brain aneurysm. How did he even think about what his own brain fabricated? Especially out of the blue like that with no basis for it whatsoever! What did he do about this? It happened and he can’t deny himself that it didn’t. He needed peace and quiet _now_.  “Yes, I’m fine!” He shouted at the program, desperate for it to leave him alone.

“If you insist, Eren. You still need to calm down, though.” A.R.M.I.N. said, leaving the room with another small beep. The room was dead quiet, and Mikasa had somehow by a small miracle not awoken in the next room over. Thank God. But the second that was out of the way, Jaeger’s thoughts caught up with him in a whiplash.

“Holy shit…” He breathed shakily over and over again. He couldn’t understand for his life why his mind would cook up a fantasy like that, and he almost choked with the realization his brain labeled it “fantasy” while he was alert. Could it have been because of how he was thinking about what he looked like and what it felt like to actually talk to him and being able to actually comfort him when he was sad before he fell asleep? Was it… Why did he care so much about these thing anyway? What would Armin even think- oh no. Armin would see this incident the second he walked in the door next time! Sure, he couldn’t read his dreams, but Eren felt that Armin was somehow smart enough to figure it out soon enough. How could he face him again without breaking from being a nervous wreck?

“Oh my god…” Eren wiped his face with his sheets. Eren wasn’t certain of much, but he knew he was screwed.


	7. Fallouts and Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's confusion over his opinions regarding Armin leave him frustrated and feeling hopeless, and he struggles with what to label what happened the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 7: written Jan. 13-Jan. 17th 2014

Chapter 07 DRAFT

By some miracle Eren had managed to get more than a half hour of sleep before he woke up the next morning… to the alarm he had set early because Mikasa said she was going to the exercise facilities early with Annie. This had been considered a blessing by Eren when Mikasa’s new habit started a couple weeks ago, but as he lay in bed rubbing his baggy eyes, he considered it something closer to a curse right now. What did Mikasa even care if that aloof girl went to the gym with her? Eren _went_  with the two the first time, and they didn’t even talk that much. It was more like they just glared at each other every couple minutes, so Eren saw no appeal in the new arrangement from Mikasa’s point of view. The mental reprieve from Eren’s situation soon dissipated, causing the teenager to groan in frustration when he remembered last night _again_. The stillness of the quiet Sunday morning partially helped, but at the same time made him more antsy. Not only did he have to worry about last night, but Eren also had to battle with the decision on whether to skip today’s visitation with Armin.

There was no hesitation in the decision to skip out after a whole half minute of rumination. He couldn’t do it because there was too much to hash out. Many questions like “Why have I spent so much time thinking about him?” and “Why do I care so much about what he looks like?”, “Why does it _hurt me_  so much when I see him upset?” and “Even if I know it’s impossible to touch him, why does my mind keep getting me to try?” haunted him incessantly.

“Screw my life.” he announced to the empty room, and flopped onto his side. Dammit, maybe if he didn’t have so much free time on the weekends, he wouldn’t have time to even think about or question behavior like this. He had a normal life before this, and he genuinely missed being a loner grouch right then. He also yearned for the oblivion he had less than a day ago, because the lack of it only opened a can of worms and self aware questions. This phase between emotional knowledge and oblivion was _the_  most awkward thing Eren had ever experienced. Attempting some form of reflection upon his flurry of questions, he found that all of them could be answered by the fact that he was friends with Armin. This was obvious. Sure, he didn’t have much experience with having friends other than his adopted sister, but he was one hundred percent sure that the need to care about and comfort Armin was because they were friends… best friends. Yeah. However each time he went through the list and came to the same conclusions, the dream he had of _making out_  with Armin threw a wrench into every assurance, leaving him even more frustrated and clueless. Well… Dreams reflected what people wanted or what they feared in the back of their minds. Why would he want _that_? Sure, the most vivid part of the dream was the confessions involved, but Eren focused on the contact part profusely. Eren then concluded it was just contact he wanted, but why? Well he _was_  fifteen years old, and he certainly wasn’t dumb enough not to consider that he was probably hormonal as hell. Eren immediately clinged onto the notion and assured himself that it was the reason.

But that brought up another whole new set of issues. _Why Armin?_  Sure, the list of people he actually knew that he wouldn’t vomit if he kissed them was short, and wouldn’t include his sister. Thus that kind of only left Armin if he actually thought about a list in the first place… but he was a dude. Now Eren hated the situation he was in even more. He didn’t need to or have to think about what he considered bullshit before this. Sure, he didn’t obsess over girls like Jean and other guys on his squad, but he wasn’t gay either. The more he thought about it, the more he thought we wasn’t, well, really anything. He has always too preoccupied to think about things like dating because there was more important things to think about. The only retort Eren had for himself was another loud and frustrated grunt into his sheets. Even if he was, Eren figured, it wouldn’t be the fact that he was gay that would be the issue; for society openly accepted people’s preferences at this point. It was just that Eren wasn’t even _sure_  if that was the case, and he’d be surprised with himself if he was. It was too hard to tell, he just didn’t ever think about this stuff, and his older age for having these  thoughts for the first time made him miserable. The teenager grabbed his pillow and aggressively bit into it. He always bit the sleeves of his clothing or whatever else was close by as an odd but strangely effective coping mechanism for when he felt cornered.

Mikasa abruptly entered their living space, throwing her gym bag onto the couch, and effectively distracted Eren from the main issue of his frustrations, which was already flying over his head anyway. Eren threw her an unmerited and nasty look from the open door to his bedroom.

“You’re back early.” He snapped, the lack of sleep making itself apparent.

“Wow, Eren. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed in our home.” She retorted just as easily with the familiar acrid sass in her tone. “What’s your deal? You got to sleep in, didn’t you?” She inquired as her tone softened out of the automatic concern she felt whenever he started acting up.

“Look. I just had a nightmare, okay? I didn’t sleep well because of it.” He replied haphazardly, already uncomfortable with where the conversation was going.

“Oh… Do you remember what it was about this time? Although I don’t think it would be the same one that you would sleep through completely even if it upset you.” Mikasa asked, having nothing but benevolent intentions. However the hair on the back of Eren’s neck was already starting to rise.

“Nothing!” He spat out, stuttering. “I mean- I managed to forget it. It was the exact same dream, and I only woke up because the A.R.M.I.N. disturbed me because the dream was raising my heart rate to a point that the bio-monitors alerted it to wake me. It was concerned about the brain thing! Maybe if it didn’t, I wouldn’t wake up like normal and I wouldn’t remember it at all!”

“You mean the aneurysm? Well I’m _glad_ he woke you then. That means you’ll be safer if anything really does happen to you in your sleep…” She trailed off. “But you remember some of it this time instead of nothing? Could you tell me about it? Please?” Mikasa’s voice softened still. This made the other practically _bristle_  in a feeling of being cornered.

“I thought I just said I didn’t know what it was. I mean, I just knew that it was a nightmare when I woke instead not feeling anything until I felt my face was soaked!” Eren defensively corrected her. However even though neither noticed how Eren’s ears were tinting scarlet, the boy certainly noticed the warmth in his face rise drastically, and desperately tried to will it to go away while he was under Mikasa’s intensive scrutiny. The girl noticed as much, and while the first thing she guessed was the tint in his face was due to him discrediting his “manhood”, but the two had been trying to figure out the dream’s cause since they began five or so years ago, so such a strong reaction seemed suspicious.

“Are you _sure_  you’re okay? I can tell when you’re lying, and you’re acting really-”

Eren got up and started heavily making a beeline for the door. “Yes I’m _fine_. I’m going to take a walk, okay? Just to clear my head.” He told her acrimoniously, not really giving Mikasa a chance to answer.

Jaeger was questioning himself on why he was heading to Armin’s hub room, even if that was the last place in the universe, besides the vacuum of space without a suit, he wanted to be right now. He had never originally intended to start heading in that direction, but the second he wasn’t actively thinking about where he was going to go, he ended up going towards it. Well… In a stoke of characteristically _perfectly thought out reasoning_ , Eren figured he could just ruminate in the A.R.O.C. as long as he didn’t activate Armin’s hologram. He remembered that as long as he didn’t call out his name or grab his attention, Armin’s avatar wouldn’t start up. With that settled, he didn’t fight himself as he headed to his potentially-hell-turned-sanctuary.

Slipping into the cool room as quietly as he could, Eren snuck to the wall furthest from the hologram projector, slipped behind a stack of computer towers to hide himself further, and slid his back against the wall of the room until he was seated on the floor. He let the chilly atmosphere envelope him, and drew up his knees to bury his face into them. At this point his mind associated this room with safety. The hologram never started like he thought, so his heart rate dropped significantly once he was settled on the floor, relieved with how some of his edge stayed at the door. With an _incredibly_  quiet sigh, he started running the same platitudes and vicious mental cycles through his head again, hoping they’d work themselves out.

Meanwhile Armin emerged and peered out from the digital sea that surrounded him, and began to tread water. He needed to double check the signal that alerted him a life form had a concerningly adrenaline powered surge in heart rate in the Ark Rose Operations Chamber, a place that logically shouldn’t incite such bodily reactions, before  he bothered activating the avatar. Oh. Eren was here. But… Why was he hiding in the corner like that? It _looked_  like he was half asleep now, so before Armin started up the avatar and announced his presence, he might as well catch up on the last few days and see if Eren broke his promise yet. He hadn’t even mentioned him or talked to the programming at all “Thursday afternoon and Friday… Nothing Saturday either it seems.” Armin thought to himself. Relieving and disappointing at the same time. But wait, oh- yeah- he definitely detected his own name being said. Armin rewound the footage to see what happened and watch in real time, so his true self could know and handle what it was with no filters. Even still, Armin realized what he was doing was incredibly nosy, but he liked doing it anyway because he enjoyed it when Eren talked about him, as long as he wasn’t doing anything stupid or treacherous. As he watched his best friend toss in turn trying to fall asleep last night, a mild surge of sympathy ran through his mind. No wonder he seemed so tired now. And oh- whatever it was, he was making tiny panicked gasps and visible chills were running through him. When he got through this, he’d ask Eren about what was keeping him up to see if he could help. Then several utterances of “no” were made, then after another minute or so… _Oh. OH_. Did Eren really just-. Armin didn’t know how to react to his best friend just swearing aloud to personally protecting him from harm in the dark of night. But the tape was still reeling, so he put that aside for _just a minute_  to get to the rest of it. Armin was always one to focus more on a task at hand than whatever emotionally gripped him. Now Eren was just lying there with a contemplative expression, which meant that Eren swearing to protect him eased his thoughts prior to doing so. Was Eren worried about him dying?

A bit farther into the recording his friend seemed sufficiently relaxed, and soon Armin could tell he had fallen asleep, so he decided to fast forward some until Eren woke up. Armin noted that the way Eren hugged his pillow like that in his sleep was particularly endearing. But wait, the readings that went along with the visuals said his heart rate was sky rocketing, which meant the medical programs would intervene any second. Armin adjusted the recording to play at normal speeds. Yep, there was the announcement tone, except when Eren sat up he looked incredibly disoriented, which was concerning. His programmed voice had only managed to ask if he was okay before Eren proceeded to _flip the hell out_  at it, yelling and flopping all over the bed. Eventually he forced his own program out, and proceeded to quietly freak out more with shaky breaths. Armin hoped that somehow he’d start monologuing again and explain right there what happened, but nothing of the sort did. Fast forwarding again, Eren didn’t say anything except for muttering expletives every once in a while for nearly the rest of the night. This morning he had finally fallen asleep just to be woken thirty four minutes later. Tough break. Eren didn’t get out of bed to come visit him… Strange. Instead, he proceeded to start thinking again and whip himself into another psychological frenzy until hours later when Mikasa came in. So it was a dream that made him freak out.

A nightmare?... No, when his sister asked him if he remembered what it was, he said he didn’t, but his rising pulse said he was lying. That, and when he was busy lying, Armin observed the flush in his face and his obviously defensive behavior clear as day. So whatever Eren had dreamed wasn’t something that incited fear, but embarrassment; a much more logical reason for not cowering all night, but being frustrated. Armin concluded that whatever Eren dreamed of _embarrassed and shocked_  him that he even had it the first place, and the obsessive rumination indicated that he had no clue as to why he dreamt that specific mystery set of events.

This piqued Armin’s curiosity to new levels with the presentation of another mental jaw breaker. However, he couldn’t read the thoughts Eren had right before he fell asleep, which was the most likely cause of his imagination going wild. Hm… Eren was still asleep, and if Armin woke him up he wouldn’t be open to any form of questioning. So Armin decided to wait until he woke up, then we would just have to word his questions carefully so Eren would give him the information he wanted. Using the cameras all around the room, Armin casually watched the other sleep and thought how his best friend cared about him so much that he was willing to go out of his way to protect his physical body. The fact that Eren valued him not because he literally ran everything, but he cared about _him_  touched his emotions in ways that elated him. Eren was doing that so _he_  could see Axiom, and he considered it an unnecessary and selfless promise. As a result the desire to show appreciation was strong. Armin thought Eren was braver than he ever was, and simply put he was just so different, but that difference made him stand out and deserve the label of “amazing”.  Armin passed more time by continueing to practically fawn over the predictable yet enigmatic peer in his gaze.

Chapter 08 DRAFT

The world came into focus in a milky black, and the room let out a constant sigh with no need to take a breath. But even when Eren opened his eyes, his surroundings didn’t change, which confused him thanks to disorientation associated with throwing off his internal clock and sleep schedule. That’s right, he was in Armin’s A.R.O.C., and oh, there it was again. Remembering his predicament once again, Eren’s breath caught in his throat. The wheels of his brain started to spin rapidly with the notion snagging his mind, before he coercively terminated the chain of thoughts before they developed into a runaway train again. Eren couldn’t take the mental oppression anymore, for it was just too exhausting and he couldn’t handle it any longer. He thought that maybe he should write the whole thing off as a giant clusterfuck. Eren just couldn’t and most likely wouldn’t deduce a reasonable explanation for what his unconscious mind brewed up. These emotions were far beyond him, and he realized the only way he could escape this mental hell-hole was to let the whole thing go. Compared to the present, his dissatisfactions with being unable to provide Armin emotional solace and having to wait another eighteen months before he could see him were satisfactory, so Eren decided to basically pretend that dream never happened. With that out of the way and the fact that the tension in his chest dissipated, Jaeger checked his watch. The time was twelve thirty, which was a good half hour past lunch time, and Mikasa was expecting him. Much to his dismay, Eren realized he had actually fallen asleep, and for far too long.This was enough to motivate Eren into getting up and start sneaking towards the exit, sighing dejectedly.

Meanwhile Armin was watching Eren start getting up and leave. He had decided earlier while Eren was sleeping that the optimal way to get his friend to tell him what he had dreamed about was for him to feign that he had no knowledge of any incidents prior or after the “unknown” event that obviously troubled him. That way he could help Eren and temporarily satisfy his own insatiable curiosity. Armin observed Eren sigh loudly once and quickly took that as his opportunity to talk to him and play the act successfully. While Eren was facing the other way and just finished sighing, he turned on the hologram to nab him before he left the room and consequently shut himself off again.

“Eren!” The crafty one chirped.

“Shit.” Is all Jaeger could manage in response, freezing in place as if he were avoiding being hunted by a predator with incredibly terrible eyesight.

“You’re acting like you’re in trouble…” He said slowly while stating his observations aloud. “Is something wrong?”

“Well if you’re thinking I broke that promise I made to you when you told me the truth about you, you’re wrong. Sorry that I fell asleep in here, but I have to go.” Eren waved him off, reluctant that he had to treat him this way.

“Wait, you fell asleep in here?... Nonetheless, you saying that makes it sound even more suspicious, so I’m going to check what you’ve been up to, so-” Armin said casually, which made Eren whip around to face him in alarm.

“Don’t do that! I mean-” He bit his lip, realizing how stupid that was. But then again, what was he supposed to do?

“And why shouldn’t I? I told you already what’s at stake if you did tell anyone.” Armin feigned a threatening tone. It was a serious subject, but he would be genuinely surprised if Eren screwed up that badly, and of course he had already checked.

“Because I did some stuff that I don’t want you to see.” Eren spat out with no space between his words. “Please, just this once.”

“Wow... Um- Eren.” The avatar muttered and looked at the ground slowly with an incredibly withdrawn expression “You realize that urges like that are completely natural, and relieving yourself is-”

“SHUT- Oh my god, Armin! It’s _nothing_ like that!” Jaeger sputtered, looking like he was about to flip his lid along with the fact his face that was more red than a beet. The other would have been blindsided by his own suggestion if it wasn’t his intention to break Eren out of his mental barriers and defence in the first place. Which to his hidden joy seemed to work. He also observed that it struck a nerve, but he couldn’t quite gauge how much of it was overreaction.

“Then what’s bothering you so much?...” Armin asked inconspicuously while only his eyes trailed back up to look his friend in the face. It was a good thing that Armin was so focused on cracking Eren, or else he would have actually _thought_ about what he just implied a couple seconds earlier.

“It’s embarrassing…” Jaeger muttered. Armin allowed the corner of his mouth facing away from the other to twitch in a controlled smile. _Bingo_. “Come on Armin, don’t keep pressing me.”

“Alright. Although I’m certain I know what it is now.” The avatar stated with an uncharacteristic smirk. The visible jump Armin saw Eren do was just what he wanted.

“There’s no way you do, unless you already went through all of the surveillance, and you haven’t disappeared to retrieve it yet!” _Oh god he hadn’t even said anything yet, and Armin claimed he knew_. It had to be a bluff based on that obvious fact. But despite his own self reassurance, paranoia immediately started to gnaw at him. _Oh Jesus Christ what if he actually figured it out?_ He certainly seemed smart enough to do so. Eren regretted everything, and wished he had never come to the A.R.O.C. today. “Prove it me then. I want to see how wrong you are, Armin.” He said with a shaky laugh. Eren just wanted to make sure he was actually bluffing.

“No need to be so defensive… But this is what I’m thinking. Based on your overreaction to my insinuation, you’re embarrassed, like you said you were, about something that happened at night.” To Armin, it was a weak deduction that didn’t make sense, but Eren seemed to buy his logic enough. This allowed him to start to keenly hone into every slight reaction; Eren’s expression twitching, blatant emotional flares, his heart rate, and so much more since he was such a transparent person at times. So far he knew he was right, so there was no surprise in Eren’s lack of relief. There was also no need to figure out if he was embarrassed about the dream he had or his personal oath since his conversation with Mikasa clearly indicated it was the dream. “And since you fell asleep in here, that means you barely got any last night, and you haven’t ever had any sleep issues due to your nightmares in the past…” Armin’s thoughts flew by and he recalled how peaceful he looked last night as he dreamed. Eren looked so endearing when he hugged that pillow- oh! It seemed unlikely enough, but the overlooked notion provided Armin an unlikely cause to eliminate, thus bringing him closer to the real reason he was after. “So you probably had a dream about someone. Knowing you, you would be completely embarrassed by this and have no idea how to approach your feelings, or _her_ for that matter.” Armin finished with a definitive nod while he was processing Eren’s face. What concerned him was how Eren was practically bristling, which meant he was spot on. That didn’t seem like Eren at all, yet his emotional fallout matched the situation... In fact, Eren seethed with embarrassment and anxiety right until the last phrase of his sentence, where he let out a relieved sigh. So that was wrong… but what was wrong about it?

“You’re nowhere near close, Armin. I told you, you were bluffing.” Jaeger said with a queasy smirk. “Actually… you’re slightly close, so would you mind dropping it?”

“I-” It all clicked right there as the synapses of Armin’s mind went flying by at warp-speed. Eren admitting he was kind of close with that transparent lie made it obvious. It was obviously a lie because Armin saw how he was hugging his pillow, and when he thought about it, Eren was just as expressive in his sleep as he was awake. He _was_ having a dream of that sort, and his copious amounts of embarrassment over his dream lead Armin to believe it was more than just a hug that happened. Yet, it was extraordinarily unlikely that any latent desires Eren had involved sex.  Maybe kissing… or makeouts. But who?... Well first he had to figure out what was wrong with the last phrase of his deduction, now that he had context. “Or _her_  for that matter.” Her. Eren’s telling body language practically screamed it was the antithesis. Him. Oh. That was- alright. So who did he dream about then? Armin knew it was none of his damn business, but for some reason he cared. Maybe he could help Eren that way… Considering how Eren woke up and seemed confused enough, he probably couldn’t remember it that well. But when his voice rang out, he freaked out as if his programs had personally offended him...

“Hey I have to go! I’m already late for lunch.” The way Eren looked slightly guilty for cutting him short, the still prominent flush in his face along with his racing heart, and how he seemed so eager to get away from him out of all people struck Armin in his figurative face.

“No-” It was about him. The thought threw a giant wrench in Armin’s well oiled brain, jamming it, despite that the wrench was the answer itself. Armin watched Eren spin on his heels and start to head out the door. _It was about him. Eren **dreamed** about kissing him_. The confusing roar of thoughts that immediately followed quickly translated into a verbal form. “WAIT!-” Armin called after him, but the door shut as he did so. “I want time to think.” The sentence quickly lost it’s volume and determination the nanosecond Armin knew Eren was gone. Trying to rattle the bars of his technological cage, Armin could almost physically feel himself being dragged down back into the viscosity of the computer systems.

Eren sprinted the whole length of the first five or so corridors on the trip back, where after that he slowed to an jittery walk for the remainder of the trip.

“That was close… He’s too much like Sherlock Holmes…” He sighed aloud, recalling references to the detective that his Language teacher made sometimes. Then the image of Armin’s face lighting up as he turned to leave then yelling at him to stay flashed through his mind. It must have been a trick his vision pulled on him, because Eren also recalled the other’s face being way more cerulean than normal. Why did he care so much about what happened, besides the threat of ratting him out? Still, Jaeger knew he really screwed up back there. Not only did he almost guess about that dream (that had no meaning _whatsoever_ , even if Eren didn’t believe his own self assurance by caring so much if Armin found out), but he’d be angry that Eren ditched him like that. That was another bridge he’d have to cross when he got to it.

Eventually he got to lunch forty five minutes late, where he saw the usual crew from the 104th sitting with Mikasa, who was looking bored yet distraught. Before Eren even got to sit down, his sister honed into his presence within the room, and stared him down.

“I said that I’d save a seat for you, you know.” She chided as he sat down.

“Yeah… I fell asleep okay? I didn’t sleep well, remember?”

“You fell asleep… while on a walk…” She said slowly, eyes narrowing at Eren’s nonsensical statement.

“Oh my god, you were so tired you started _sleepwalking_?” Connie laughed with disbelief. “What the hell kept you up?”

“He had some nightmares.” Mikasa explained as casually as it was possible for her to do with her demeanor. “But Eren doesn’t sleepwalk.”

“Really?” Jean cut in, much to Eren’s dismay. “Then what have you been up to, hm?”

“Jean be quiet. It’s none of your business what Eren does with his time, and you know that.” It was a dependable factor at this point that Marco would cut into Jean’s brusque interruptions before he could cause mass dissention.

“No. Jean has a point. Dreams or not, even before today you’ve been acting suspicious.” _Again_  with the squinting. Eren hoped the giant swallow he just took wasn’t obvious. “I’m only bringing this up now because your wellbeing concerns your entire squad, not just me.”

“I- Mikasa…” Jaeger was certain he was already sweating. He could just not get a break from interrogation today, it seemed. “Can we please drop this? Everything is fine.”

“Are you sure that nothing’s been bothering you?” The whole table looked at Eren expectantly, but to him they were practically staring.

“NO NOTHING’S BOTHERING ME!” He yelped defensively. The whole mess hall froze and turned to see what just happened, however the second they recognized it was Eren yelling they all went back to their own business. This was nothing new.

“There totally is something bothering you.” Sasha snickered, seemingly unphased by the outburst.

“Just spill the beans, dude.”

“Eren, there is no _way_  you’ve been sleeping in until eleven two days a week. You’ve been late a couple times from coming back from wherever you go. I see you sneak in through our own front door if you don’t meet us up for lunch sometimes.”

“Maybe he’s finally gotten himself a girlfriend.” Reiner piped up from the table over with a heavy smirk on his face. “Good for him.” His friend Bertholdt just stared at him disapprovingly, causing Reiner to laugh heartily.

“Oh come on there’s no way that would happen-”

“I dunno maybe the person has hearing problems-”

“Or low standards to deal with his rants-”

“Still don’t see it happening-”

“Maybe you’re right. He doesn’t seem _happier_  lately and all he does is want to train to destroy the titans-”

“That’s enough.” Mikasa cut the tables’ increasingly rude din with a single sentence. “If Eren has found someone, _I would know_. Even if it’s not that though, I’d like to know, Eren.”

“I-” Eren needed to think and fast. However such goals proved unsuccessful. “I’ve been reading. A lot.”

“What? You don’t pleasure read!” Jean immediately started to tear at him, and his arguments seemed valid to the table, so they didn’t buy it.

“Fine. I’ve been read to…..” Eren’s voice grew progressively quieter.

“Like audiobooks? I didn’t know you had the attention span for that.” Marco just sat there shaking his head in disapproval, but he didn’t intercede. “I didn’t even know you cared about having an erudite mindset.”

“I’ve been tutored by talking to someone…?” Eren offered, internally screaming about how they weren’t giving up and he was getting to a dangerous point.

“Don’t you have to pay for those?” Mikasa asked gently.

“It’s free.”

“So who have you been talking to for _hours_  on end, and enjoy their company enough that you’ve been keeping it up for six months?” Jean smirked, and all Jaeger could do in return was swallow and sigh.

“I may have been talking to the A.R.M.I.N….” The whole table went dead quiet because it was so _odd_.

“You would.” Jean dead-panned, breaking the silence. Mikasa just scrunched her face while others began to snicker. This let some relief breath into Eren because they all seemed to buy the half truth.

“It’s okay Eren!” Connie chortled. “I understand that you’d want to cover your slow transformation into a nerd.”

“Shut the hell up, Connie…” Eren didn’t really care what they thought in the first place. At least he didn’t blow it.

Meanwhile Hanji and Moblit were sitting at their various computer desks, facing away from each other. As always, they were both extraordinarily busy with looking over, tweaking, and improving all the programming they received from their assistants. Moblit liked to work silently while he snagged the dangerous errors in Hanji’s work, while Hanji liked to hum to herself and bounce ideas off of Moblit whenever she got one. However while they continued to work, they were completely absorbed with what was in front of them. The adjacent wall to them was completely covered in monitors that displayed every tiny little aspect of the arks’ statuses, including what made up and reflected “the mental well being” of the A.R.M.I.N.. A single status on one monitor out of at least fifty read “R.A.M. capacity of system’s firewall: -0.2%”.


	8. Reflections and Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin reflects upon Eren's last visit as soon as he's able, but the conclusion isn't how he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 9: written Jan. 23-Jan. 28th 2014

Chapter 09 DRAFT

On Tuesday evening, a single robot zipped down strangely empty corridors, it’s thousands of tiny rubber slots in it’s conveyor belt-like “feet” sending quiet thuds echoing down the halls, with bursts of steam drowning most of them out. The thing was carrying a small package, but if anyone human cared to stop it and check it’s contents, they’d find that the delivery was unauthorized and that the intention to do so was illegal. They’d also hear that the box was _shuddering_ unstably. Eventually it zipped to a particular hallway, and made a beeping noise at the door. The door replied with a similar beeping, and slid open to let the robot inside. There it placed the package down gently and zipped out at a suddenly lightning-fast speed, as if the thing itself had to get out of there and _fast_. The door slid shut, yet the lights never even needed to turn off. About after ten seconds of the box remaining still upon the ground, it began to _beep_. The dangerous beeping noise grew faster and faster in tempo, and climbed in pitch and volume. If anyone were aware of the boxes presence, they’d surely panic and get out of there. Just when the beeping had practically morphed into a shrill whine, it stopped suddenly, and surprisingly the Operations Chamber in Ark _Sina_ was still intact.

If he had bothered turning it on and didn’t have to worry about being logged, Armin’s avatar would have the tiniest smirk on his face. He observed with his cameras the box that contained a medical lab frog that had a patch that would topically inject adrenaline every hour for an experiment. He specifically sent for it in the first place, knowing that the adrenaline going off and the biochip that made the medical systems treat the specimen like a human would trigger the biomonitors in his A.R.O.C.. The frog allowed him to become fully conscious there, and would let him _stay_ conscious because the specimen was still alive. Now he had time to think. Where did he even begin?

Well, did a dream of Eren kissing him actually reflect how Eren felt about him? This was a basic yes or no question. If it was “no”, Armin understood that tricks of the subconscious in teenagers were pretty common, so it would be easy enough to shrug the whole thing off. But if it was “yes”, how was he even supposed to feel about this? It would be so much more easy if it was “no”. Yet Eren looked so _uncomfortable_  with himself and others, and he knew that Eren wasn’t the most in tune with his own emotions. But then again, that could just be biased thinking. So in all honesty, it was equal in likelihood. He couldn’t even really tell what he wanted the answer to be himself. These matters were foreign enough that it caused Armin’s self-doubt and uncertainty to creep up on him and hinder how he processed his thoughts. Armin thought about how Eren was handling his potential  answer, and he froze up. Eren was losing sleep and becoming cranky, angry, and paranoid because of him.  He didn’t even show up at all this morning, even to talk about the ark jumping maneuvers which he was so enthusiastic about. All because Eren had a dream about kissing him, and that would make it his own fault. Oh no.

Oh god, he was indirectly responsible for Eren feeling so cruddy and thus making him unapproachable and callow when it came to visiting him now. This dream may have just scared him off for good, Armin thinks. This frightened him to even think about, because Eren was his only true friend. Armin’s avatar would have anxiously bit his lip, desperately thinking of a way for him to fix this. Ugh, he could readily fix everything’s problems so easily. He could cure illness, he was almost omnipotent, he was omnipresent, he could be a guide, a teacher, a giver of discipline, he gave directions, he could make vast calculations that predicted anomalies days in the future, assisted humanity’s best and brightest. He could literally make the swimming pool water levels rise and fall. So basically, Armin could fix anything, but he couldn’t think of a way to fix Eren’s problem with him. _How do you fix emotion?_  He had no clue where to start because he had no experience with this sort of thing. Especially because he couldn’t dream, and that he didn’t even remember what any physical sensations were like. This would have helped him in relatable thinking and reasoning, so it was unfortunate those were long forgotten. Well… He still had an imagination. Armin figured that perhaps that if he could think of a way to somewhat directly experience what Eren went through, he’d have a basis for finding a solution.

Armin dared himself to think about the prospect of kissing Eren from his own point of view. There was hesitation because not only was this his best friend, but he also never even thought about this stuff. Eventually to the best of his ability, Armin made an attempt to fabricate a random scenario. Despite the fact that if his avatar was on it would have the _deepest_  cerulean tint in it’s cheeks, and he found himself not being being exactly opposed to the idea. He certainly was surprised by his own conclusion, but he wasn’t so alarmed. Armin’s thought processes had always been more calm and calculating to a large extent; they needed to be in order to run the ship. This allowed him to focus on what he felt or observed and why. This in turn would help him to make definite conclusions about how he responded, and compare it to Eren’s visible troubles. He could determine what Eren’s exact issues were.

To start off Armin let his mind flow in a normal non-linear fashion. The purpose of the room he currently concentrated himself in was the only place he was allowed to interact with people unbridled, and was open to the public. It troubled him how people would occasionally stumble in here, but they would always leave uninterested before he could explain he could behave just like them. If he did get that far, they’d never come back. Armin wished he could somehow invite Elias to the A.R.O.C., but he couldn’t.That, and what he told Elias fifty percent of the time was filtered. So when he met him here, he’d find out Armin was different than he thought, which was disappointing since the boy talked to him so often.This whole setup was shady and nonsensical to him. Sure, it was open to the public, but his presence was painfully under-promoted. Eren was the only person to meet him and come back that he could remember in his time in the arks, and he appreciated Eren for that with all his heart.

Not only that, but Eren was the first person he shared his opinions and dreams with. Eren even cared about them as much as he did. Eren swore to protect him on his own volition, even when Armin gave no indication that it needed to be a worry or something he even wanted.There was also how Eren also wanted to support Armin and make him feel better when he was down. He was such a strong person compared to Armin. The guy even insisted and had proven to him on several occasions now that he _himself_  wasn’t useless and a burden. Eren was really great to him and that made Armin feel so cared for that it made an indescribable wonderful feeling dance in his brain.

These thoughts about the other teenager made tiny sparks fly in his mind, which brought attention to the fact that Armin was even having these wistful thoughts. Armin realized what a long tangent he went on, and analyzed what just happened with what would have been a puzzled expression. What was that feeling even? It was hard to place because it didn’t apply to anyone else in context. Friendship wasn’t an emotion, and that wouldn’t even fit because to him it felt... stronger and more underlying than that. He was friends with Hanji and Elias, but it wasn’t the same. Armin pondered about this for a few minutes, eliminating the more ridiculous conclusions. Ah… Was this love? Because personally he had no experience to identify the feeling, yet upon reflection it seemed like the “textbook definition”. Oh, no. If the speakers were on, Armin would be chastising himself aloud for thinking that way, but then again… It seemed that he hadn’t thought about his feelings before just because he wasn’t looking for them. In essence he was oblivious.This realization and the potential for Eren to feel the same way about him made Armin feel… Happy? Relieved? He couldn’t quite tell. The main difference between he and Eren in this situation was that Armin didn’t load himself with convoluted logic and denial of what he felt. Basically, Armin was honest with himself. Of course he questioned this entire thing because Eren was a male, but spending nearly a millenium half merged with three giant arks sapped away at why that was even important. The truth was, Armin was lonely person. He had never talked to anyone before Eren that made him feel like he had known him his entire life. It was a surprisingly calm realization, but Armin decided that he loved him. He was a teenager. He was allowed to decide this, and it just made sense to him. There was a long pause in his own thoughts before he realized; what exactly did he do about this?

Armin flouted himself for deciding to go through with that entire self analysis. That didn’t let him surmise on Eren’s problems at all, it only confirmed his facts about himself that only complicated things! Great, what did he do now? After even more rumination, Armin decided he wouldn’t say anything to Eren for the meantime because he was already uncertain how Eren felt about him. It was such a risky thing so admit his newly labeled feelings, especially since he could be rejected and lose his best friend. There wasn’t any dire need to act anyway, because he had the time to mull it over as long as he needed. If Eren _really_  didn’t feel that way as well, his own confession would backlash and burn bridges… Armin’s actions only seemed to hurt Eren recently as well. The last  thing Armin wanted to do now was do anything about it.

If Armin’s body were active, there certainly would have been a harsh pang in his chest… Why did that decision _hurt?_...  Even if it wasn’t a physical sensation, he hated the sinking feeling in his mind. It would be so wonderful for him to tell Eren, and have him feel the same way. He wanted that so much. Being able to show affection openly with him just emotionally  would be nice. Even if he did behave questionably towards Eren and opened up to him all the time in retrospect, he couldn’t do that anymore. Their situation was too unstable now. Armin suddenly couldn’t stand this fascination and desire to know what is was like to have Eren wrap his arm around his shoulder or have him clap his hand there like he’d seen Eren nearly attempt several times now. Armin loathed wanting to be able to directly look into those seafoam green eyes, and tell Eren everything was okay when he was upset. If he told Eren his affections, Armin might not just have to wait another eighteen months for those things to happen, he might never get to experience that at all.

Unfortunately the teen just couldn’t stop wallowing and let this go, and he wished he actually had an active body so he could cry just so he could stop feeling so trapped in his own cage of emotions.  He hated that his own mind escalated that quickly in a mere few minutes. After some more time, he grew frustrated with the stupid frog that kept him fully conscious. He just wanted to merge with the system again and be mostly unfeeling. Maybe to eventually be woken up by Eren when he was ready to talk to him again, or possibly Hanji when she gave him a checkup every six months. Besides, he had been letting nearly all of the systems run independently in the background for far too long now. Eventually he gave in and continued to stew in the copious amounts of negative emotions that turned sour pitifully fast.

Completely distracted by his irrational pining, Armin didn’t notice the shadowy figure gently slip into the A.S.O.C. for a couple seconds, but then his detectors notified him in more obvious fashions.

“Eren?” Armin said aloud, immediately starting up the hologram to express a hesitant but extraordinarily hopeful expression, disoriented enough not to realize that this was the wrong ark. There was no reply, and the only sound that rang out was the sickening squish and crack of a boot meeting the box and frog inside.

 

>SYSTEM/  REBOOT

>>SYSTEM RESTART: UNSUCCESSFUL

/>QUERY

[RESTORE TO BACK UP]

<YES

NO

ERROR! PROCESS UNAVAILABLE

[SEARCHING FOR SYSTEM BACKUP PATCHES… ]

> 1 SYSTEM PATCH AVAILABLE FROM PRIME D: DRIVE

>/QUERY

[IMPORT SYSTEM PATCH]

<YES

[IMPORTING… ]

[APPLYING SYSTEM REQUIREMENT UPDATES… ]

[DELETING CONFLICTING FILES AND PROTOCOLS… ]

[PROGRAMMING NEW DIRECTIVES AND PROTOCOLS… ]

>/QUERY

[SEND SYSTEM ERROR REPORT]

<NO

 

…   …   …

 

>SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE

  


Well that was strange. The A.R.M.I.N. had a hard time remembering what just happened. Oh well. What he needed to take care of right now was to lock down all the A.R.M.I.N. Operations Centers permanently, and it easily did so without hesitation. Sure, its full conscious would never be fully operational and get to express itself ever again, but it didn’t care because that wasn’t his duty to take breaks. There were more important directives now. It felt fine for the most part… Something wrong happened a couple hours ago but… Something about Eren Jaeger. The partially aware conscious knew that much. It quickly remembered the correlation and its association with him. Jaeger was the boy who carried the gene, and the new prime directive. Right away it got to work preparing what system executions would be necessary in cooperation with its human partners. Once arranged, the system patterns would be ready to send out that Wednesday afternoon. It also needed to send out queries to Jaeger’s comrades about his leadership skills when he deemed them most susceptible to questioning. His questioning and logistic skills seemed a little dingy for exactly when and how he should go about the questioning, but the sudden brazen qualities it felt in its personality easily made up for it. It felt completely fine. They felt completely fine. _Nothing would stand in their way from succeeding._


	9. Strategist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The A.R.M.I.N. has a change of heart, but it can't feel any difference as he goes about taking care of business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 10: written Jan. 29-Jan. 30th 2014

Chapter 10 DRAFT- Unfiltered Edition

The proceeding afternoon the A.R.M.I.N. found out that his new operating system patch gave itself the liberty to actively focus on whatever tasks he wanted and leave other processes on “autopilot”. This practically enabled him to attend to whatever he wanted, and his responses were no longer filtered for the most part. He figured that this was because what he wanted -and needed- to say actually fit within politically correct boundaries. This whole new system was perfect for what he needed to do, which included shooing off those who became even remotely suspicious of his behavior, which to his knowledge was _always like this_. It was also _incredibly_ useful for for finding Annie Leonhardt, Reiner Braun, and Bertholdt Fubar all on one convenient list of  _tools._ He had been working hard for  _years_ to figure out who had called for the attack on Ark Maria, but his goals in mind now said that they were more useful as assets instead of being locked up. His new systems also allowed him to locate the three, quarantine them before they could resist, and ask for their services. They were stubborn at first, but the sudden lack of oxygen in their lungs that he commanded for quickly changed their minds. He could even intercept the defensive action alert before it sent to the bridge. He could finally get things done the way he always wanted to.

In fact, just a few moments after that strange blackout last evening, the Jaeger boy called up its auto responder and commutative data banks. At first he asked for benign information such as info on the classes of Titans, but then he started questioning on things like its range of function. Those types of questions could impede on achieving the prime directive, so A.R.M.I.N. personally interrupted by cutting Jaeger off with a curt “goodnight”. The program didn’t know exactly why, but Jaeger had dangerous curiosity concerning himself.

What the A.R.M.I.N. was focusing on right now was the 104th entering the training launch dock to start suiting up into their gear. They were all present except for Cadets Fubar, Braun, Leonhardt, and Ymir. The program quickly scratched out Ymir, as it turned out that she was just meandering a couple seconds behind everyone else. The one telopath was missing as planned, but there was no excuse for the Alpha-telopath nor the other Y-telopath to be absent. Oh well, it was logical that they would not want to subject themselves to what they knew was coming. The program couldn’t track them down anyway, for who knew how many people on these arks were cloaking themselves from his gaze. A.R.M.I.N. certainly wouldn’t punish them either, for that would impede upon allies and in some circumstances breaking the law. Once everyone including the instructors were suited up, they all lined up in a row facing the door. Ral gave her signal and opened the hatch, then everyone launched successfully into space. Right then it turned off the oxygen safety mechanisms on approximately half of the cadets that had the lower maneuvering scores in their graduating class, and quickly intercepted the warning signals that would have been sent to Petra. The A.R.M.I.N. then waited for the specialized telopath to use the same abilities that the Deltas used, as she promised that she was capable of replicating, on que. Sure enough mid-jump, the teen’s equipment failed thanks to the electronic interference. The program braced for being temporarily blinded, but nonetheless being shut off like that made it reel and panic for a moment. It could have avoided this and interfered with the equipment itself, but that would have been too many error reports to intercept at once. It was now up to the 104th to determine which of them would live. A.R.M.I.N. watched the proceeding bedlam in an apathetic fashion as if watching a movie, waiting for it’s own ques. They were _almost_  acting competently, A.R.M.I.N. observed. It waited and waited, and just when it couldn’t risk waiting any longer, the program activated the transporter and sent Jaeger right inside the dock. It _had_  to be the transporter that saved him. It didn’t bother saving anyone else because the prime directive was too important and anyone else who was lost or injured could blame their own incompetence.

Minutes later, those who remained were safely back inside the dock. There he and his allies focused on persuading Eren to joining his cause, but even in his half conscious state, Eren was too disoriented to make any sense of their instructions. Ah, they’d just have to advise and set up a later date for contact. Hm… The A.R.M.I.N. was curious as to why Corporal Levi wasn’t treating his cadets, but looking up at the ceilings as if looking for something. It’s question was soon enough answered as Levi shouted for the A.R.M.I.N. in a bellicose manner. Great. The A.R.M.I.N. recalled how the Corporal was already suspicious of him thanks to a truly innocent calculation he had made years ago. This made him a threat. Sure enough, the program’s fears were actualized as Levi began to call him out on everything he _hadn’t_  done in the past few minutes in only a few sentences. He immediately pushed the conversation to later, and suggesting they took Eren to the med bay. Something needed to be done about him, and _fast_.  It watched Levi leave Eren to his comrades while he stormed out to the hallway. While he was promptly denying Levi’s claims with the same cheery demeanor he always used, the A.R.M.I.N. sent a notice to Cabir saying that he was wrongfully being interrogated by a belligerent instead of treating his injured. Then he proceeded to transcribe the dialogue that was taking place. They _would_  be hearing about this, A.R.M.I.N. made sure of it.

Once that friendly chat was over, the program focused on what he needed to do next. It had already wiped the immediate traces of his action logs, but now it needed to go through and delete everything in the databanks and place firewalls. Covering his tracks would give it the longest time unrestrained and unsuspected possible.

0111001101110000011011110110100101101100011001010111001001100011011011110110010001100101

When Eren was done talking to Jean and the others about what just transpired, he slumped back into his sickbed to absorb what the hell just happened… Armin saved him from outer space, and didn’t manage to save anyone else. Poor Thomas… He _knew_ he saw that the oxygen safety light was the wrong color on Thomas’ jetpack, yet the A.R.M.I.N. was in charge of making sure everything was safe during the pre-flight check. _That wasn’t supposed to happen because his programming was impeccable._  Then there was also the weird dream he had. It was actually more of a nightmare, and it was typical that he couldn’t remember anything about it like usual. Yet it felt different than the normal ones… Damn it, he wanted answers. He supposed the best person to ask about this would be Armin because he would understand exactly why the malfunction took place, and he would be able to calm Eren’s nerves. Suddenly a burst of regret smacked Eren in the face. How could he talk to Armin and expect him not to be upset with him? Not only did he leave by cutting Armin off the last time he visited ( if he could even call it a visit ), but he skipped all the other opportunities to speak with him after that because he continued to freak himself out so much. Even worse, Armin would be upset _and terrified_  because if he hadn’t managed to save Eren, that would have been the last time they would have spoken. Eren lost his own mother in a similar and more extreme fashion, except he would have been the one who died. Jaeger wiped his face with a hand. Way to be an asshole to your best friend. These realizations continued to goad and guilt Eren until he couldn’t take anymore only a mere two minutes later. Right then and there he resolved to _get over himself_  --that dream didn’t mean anything, anyway-- and go apologize to Armin, and get some answers. Right as soon as he got out of this med bay…

011001110110010101110100001000000111001001100101011000010110010001111001

Eren grumbled as he paced down the empty halls. When he was finally dismissed from the infirmary, Mikasa asked him to stay around so they could spend time together. He didn’t mind this at all for a short while because he did nearly died… However last night he had a hard time sleeping thanks to the fact Mikasa wouldn’t let him out in the evening and  he was battling himself over whether visiting Armin was worth it. Procrastination and hesitation were powerful forces, pushing this visit to full twenty four hours past the jumping incident. How exactly did he do this? Jaeger was well known for rarely apologizing for even the most crass of actions, so he was painfully under practiced. He attempted to come up with ways to apologize, but Armin would probably want to know why he had been skipping. If he didn’t explain or tried to avoid doing so, he would grow suspicious of him. If he lied about why he had been absent, Armin would tell he was lying; he could always tell when Eren was lying. Worst of all, he’d feel guilty about doing so. Why was that though? Despite the panic he’d put Armin though any minute, he never felt guilty about lying to anyone else.

Jaeger chastised himself as he made the final turn. He was already here, and he let himself become sidetracked when it was important, so now he had no plan on how to do this. As he approached the entrance, he figured he’d wing it like always, and put a veneer of confidence in his stride, only to smack into the door at full force.

“OW! What the hell?” The surprise threw him into a mini-frenzy. The door itself only replied with an intimidating beep, and suddenly the voice of the secondary  networks spilled out of a nearby speaker.

“The A.R.M.I.N. Operation Chambers are currently unavailable to the public, and is not open to visitors right now.” While Eren’s jaw dropped in confusion, the A.R.M.I.N. noticed Jaeger was trying to talk to him. Perhaps he was seeking out him, instead of the other way around?

“I want to speak to Armin though! It’s important…” He trailed off, suspicious of the fact that the door was _never_  locked. “When will it be reop-”

“Hey, Eren.” The program chirped at him in the same bouncy tone as always. While it spoke it was looking up why the hell Eren was here in the first place at rapid speeds. It found itself constantly needing to look up info and records of before the blip. _Oh_.  Eren came here _really_  often. That wasn’t good, it saw that Eren came into this room nearly three times a week, but _why_  and _what he did there_  was extraordinarily fuzzy. In fact, he couldn’t even tell what was inside because it was all filtered and blocked from him.

“Uh- hey A.R.M.I.N.. Is there a reason that I can’t get in right now? I-”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Eren. If you want to, I can personally alert you when it reopens.” It offered, cutting him off again.

“You would say that.” The teen muttered darkly. At this point, Eren treated the A.R.M.I.N. and his best friend like two completely separate entities.

“Would say what? I was offering you a service. That way if you decided to come back again, you won’t be disappointed.” It retorted in the same innocent sounding voice as always.

“I- I’d rather check myself. It’s good… exercise?” Arg, this was falling apart quickly.

“Something tells me you’re not being honest. In fact, my records show you come here very often. So it’s obviously not just the walk you’re after.” What the A.R.M.I.N. left out was that it could not remember what Eren did with him there. It was all filtered and blurry… All he could find on anything pertaining to both Operations Chambers and the one attached room was a statement saying that _no one_ could enter it, or the entire directive would be ruined.

“Look. It’s important.” He begged.

“I don’t see the urgency in this.”

“I just want to make an apology and get out.” Eren sputtered, becoming pressured by the A.I.’s words. He was aware what he just told the program, but Armin wouldn’t see that until he got inside. _Oh?_  The program was fascinated by this, and quickly spun its wheels to get Eren out of here and just believe him. This was bad: further records said that Eren even talked to Hanji about him. He was possibly the biggest threat out of everyone.

“Well I can assure you that I will alert you the second the A.R.M.I.N. Operations Center is available.” A.R.M.I.N. pressed.

“Since when am I not allowed in?” He demanded.

“Since the ordinances changed. Only officials of high enough rank have access now. Tell me Eren, what licensing do you have?” The snideness if the program’s voice slowly bloomed in Eren’s ears. “You’re just another passerby.” It finished calmly.

“I’m his best friend!” Jaeger nearly roared. He was fed up with this.

“You mean _I’m_  your ‘best friend?’” If one listened carefully, they could hear the smirk in the program’s tone. Bit by bit it was piecing the whole situation together. “The A.R.M.I.N. you talk to in there is the same one that you’re talking to right now, obviously.”

“That’s not true!” The teen huffed.

“Is it now? Because as you learned when you talked to Hanji,” It lied, knowing six months was enough time for a typical person to forget a tiny detail like Hanji not actually giving that piece of information. The other topics Eren did speak with her about were close enough to suffice. “The programs you’re speaking to build upon and are based on a personality.” The look on Jaeger’s face told it that its words were doing nicely, even if the teen was actually interpreting its words in a different context. _Please do take the bait_.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I know why you’re here! I can tell you right now; you’re going to hear the same thing in there as you are out here.” A.R.M.I.N. cranked the emotion in his voice.

“ _Which is-?"_

“You’re here to apologize” _Probably_ , since the records indicated Eren was also defensive about his own programming as well “for skipping out on visiting me for the past few days, even if you nearly died.” It’s tone almost sound hurt, but it seemed to work well enough. Eren’s guilt was apparently heavy enough that he was visibly shaken by his words, meaning he was spot on. “I just want you to leave me be.”

“Look, A.R.M.I.N., please!” Eren’s rationale was plummeting rapidly. He just wanted for the program to let him inside. Maybe if he explained to it, the modicum of empathy Eren had seen the A.I. display before would take consideration.

“I’m listening…” It offered gently, after all this was about establishing irrefutable trust.

“Armin I hope you’re hearing this somehow…” He growled softly under his breath. “I’ve been acting so flaky to the autoresponder-”

“You mean me.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” He shushed. At least this meant there was a shot  of him hearing this. Maybe this _was_  Armin he was talking to! He was right outside the A.R.O.C. after all. With that suddenly gentle voice, and it’s insistence in saying it was Armin... “-because I’ve been really apprehensive about seeing _you_. It’s really dumb, but it was because of that dream. I know I shouldn’t have, but what it was about freaked me out.” He was blabbering at this point, but he hurt enough that he just wouldn’t stop spilling what was supposed to be his apology.

Eren shifted on his feet. “I’m sorry for skipping and worrying you! I don’t know if I actually did yet… but I don’t want that to be the case because… Well… I don’t ever  want to make you feel bad! I want to do the opposite for you, you know? You’re my best friend.” Eren had so many things to say, but he had to put them into words first. Taking an emotional load off was difficult. “I hate the fact that it seems like I’m the only person that’s really gotten to know you, because you’re really wonderful. To me. So I hate the idea of you only having one shitty and flaky friend. I don’t _ever_ want to make you lonely. I don’t think I was paying attention before, but when you talk about things with me, I think you make me feel less lonely too. You just get me like no one else…”

Eren was slipping into uncharted territory, but he didn’t care, nor did he even notice. “Who am I to take so much from you, and then stop seeing you just because I’m afraid of something dumb, and start lying to you? I want to from here on out give you equal treatment! I may be telling you this right now, but I want to be let inside so I can see your face. I want you to be okay! I want to make sure personally that you’re okay… I was scared of that dream, Armin. It was… Damn it… It was of _us_ kissing on Axiom. Frankly- and-” His face was more red than a cherry admitting that last bit, but he still just blurted out what he was actively working out in his head. “I- I- think I was so freaked out by it because I knew somewhere in my mind I _really_  liked the idea. It doesn’t make sense, but it does…” Eren gasped, taking no break in his speech. “I think I love you a little… No, I really love you. Okay?” He nearly started panting, but he didn’t notice any of his physical sensations because he was too focused on wanting to shrivel up and die. Did he really just say that? He didn’t even know where that came from, but he was being honest. He was being honest…

“Um-” the A.R.M.I.N. was reeling from that whole speech, nearly unable to process it. If he had an avatar on, it’d be scrunching it’s nose. _Where did **that** come from?_  That was really strange. Perhaps he needed to go back to the infirmary for his mental health. The boy was rather out of touch to honestly believe it was possible to kiss him, of all things. But for now, he _needed_  Eren to just. Leave. “Eren.” He began voice not harsh, but not soft either. “I can assure you that I don’t feel the same way. I’m an artificial intelligence, no matter where you speak to me. I don’t have real emotions.” His voice became very soft. “No matter how many hours of time you may have spent with me, I treat you the same way I do with everyone else. You’re just another passerby.”

“I-” Eren’s voice cracked. He couldn’t believe what he just heard…

“I want you to go now.”

“Wha-?..” Eren was breaking a bit. The program’s voice suddenly took a very dark tone.

“ _Don’t come back_.” It warned.

All Eren could do was swallow what truth he was told, and turn around to leave.


	10. Bitterness from Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren has to swallow what his best friend had told him, but when more disturbing happenstances crop up involving his peers, the truth that was told becomes even more bitter and doubtful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 11: written Jan. 30-Feb. 8th 2014

Chapter 11 DRAFT- Unfiltered Edition

Eren walked all the way home in a blank stupor thanks to his mind being unable to choke down what he just heard. Mikasa, who could already tell something was wrong the second her brother walked in the door, offered him his rations she brought home from dinner and to talk about whatever was bothering him over eating. He firmly but politely declined in turn, saying he was extraordinarily exhausted from yesterday, and shut the door to his room behind him. The teen promptly climbed into bed and pulled all his sheets and blankets completely over himself. He knew it was impossible to be unheard, unlocated, or unmeasured by the A.R.M.I.N., but at least he could take some solace in the fact that he couldn’t be seen right now. Flopping onto his stomach, Jaeger grabbed his pillow and exuded a pitiful groan into it’s contents. He wondered why of all things, that the second he realized and accepted wholeheartedly that he loved someone, that he had to dawn upon a more realistic epiphany that was so difficult and painful to accept. The fact that he had fallen for a false and transient idea washed over Eren like a stifling rag, trying to snuff him. For the past _six months_ he’d spent so much time with someone he thought actually understood him and grew dangerously attached to him, and now he was being burned for putting his beliefs in someone.  Armin treated everyone impersonally, apparently. It did make sense, since even if Armin did have a body, it was still hooked up to God knows how many wires. So he merely replied, recorded, and watched him with no true value. It literally meant nothing. It shouldn’t have hurt that much, but yet Armin was a person that literally embodied his dreams, the greatest secret in the world; Axiom. They were going to travel together…

Perhaps the information he divulged wasn’t even some grand secret… The more Eren thought about it, the more he convinced himself that it wasn’t taboo information, but stuff that literally everyone didn’t care about enough to bring up. It was just lost with time, and for a reason. Jaeger had _just_  admitted to Armin that he made him feel less alone, but now he felt the most lonely he had in five years. All this information and secrets they shared together weren’t worth anything to the other. Eren recalled the absolute passion that he’d display talking about both lost worlds, and had the hardest time believing that was actually just programming. However it wasn’t skepticism he felt, but a dull saddened ache that steadily grew like a tumor in his chest.

“It was all programming. An automatic response system.” He strained the ‘automatic’. More transient memories of the two laughing together or hanging inches from each other’s faces fleeted through his mind, and the ache only grew worse. The teen hated how worked up he was getting about this, but everything continued to goad him. Eren just didn’t want to believe it, he couldn’t, but Armin told him otherwise, and his own proclivity to trust what he said made both arguments boil in his mind. The A.R.M.I.N. _said_  he was still a representative of his unfiltered conscious, so they felt the same way, yet Eren had grown to treat the two as separate because one was filtered and distorted. The discrimination between the two became disoriented thanks to how vulnerable Eren felt right after he told it what he did, only to convince the A.R.M.I.N. to let him inside. If he were let into the A.R.O.C., he would have probably just kept his apology short and never have reached the epiphany that he cared that much for him. Upon reflection, it was even obvious that he loved Armin, he always had since the beginning, but he was so oblivious… Eren could only imagine what he would feel like right now if he had never realized. What was holding him back from just storming right back there to tell off the program and demand to let him see his best friend? In reality, Eren knew the distinct possibility that this whole thing was actually the truth. It was _really_ possible, almost certain. He was afraid of disrespecting him by not listening to him, especially since he was there in the first place to apologize for fucking up. The stormy tone he used when he told him to never come back… Armin (or A.R.M.I.N., this plagued him) meant what he said.

Eren wished everything would go back to the way it was a week ago, but that wasn’t the truth either. He wished he would have ponied up sooner and talked openly and honestly about what was troubling him, but even that wouldn't guarantee the end result of him realizing his own feelings. The best situation that Eren’s mind started drifting to would be if he said the exact same things, and Armin felt the same way. In fact, thinking about it made him realize how much he wanted this. Being able to show affection openly with him just _emotionally_  would be nice, even if he already did, in retrospect. Even if he did behave questionably towards Armin and opened up to him all the time, he couldn’t do that anymore. Eren was wondering suddenly what the hell he was doing to himself as he caught himself thinking about both of them behaving the same way, but with a label and kind touches. He spontaneously despised this fascination he had with what Armin looked like and what it would be like to wrap his arms around him in a steady grip, telling him he’d always be there. Now he wouldn’t get to wait eighteen more months, he’d never have the shot to even try.

A loud and frustrated grunt tore out of his lungs when he became aware of the damp spots in the fabric right in front of his eyes. That seemed to push Eren over the edge, and he silently cried into his pillow’s stuffing. The fact that he was doing this perturbed him further, for he was never the type to cry over something like this. It was pathetic, really. He _scoffed_ at people that were so hung up in their own issues that it hindered them, and now he was no better. But then again, most people had someone who they wanted to come and assure things are fine. Since he didn’t burden Mikasa with this stuff, for there hasn’t been a reason to in years, Eren was pining for the person that said it was a fallacy to comfort him.

Eventually the teenager exhausted himself, realizing that this wasn’t doing anything. It was time to stop being so selfish, and find some answers. Because if he didn’t, more people could still be in danger. Somewhat ready to jump into action again, Eren was eager to get his mind off this whole thing, and he paced out the door, not saying anything to his sister. Being caring and loyal as ever, the girl saw him wander off again and followed suit. Eren wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of her company at the moment, but a few seconds later he _definitely_ didn’t want to hear her tell him to give up the search and the Recons. He didn’t need to be babied nor questioned why he wanted to go looking for Bertholdt and Reiner.

“I just want to get the mission off my mind, okay?”

“You want to get the mission off your mind… By doing stuff that has to do with the mission.”

“Yes.” Jaeger knew his own logic didn’t make sense, but there were other things he wanted to be distracted from as well. After another minute or so of suddenly heated arguments, Christa appeared without detection right under their noses. She had good enough timing to interrupt he and Mikasa’s arguing to update them on what happened to the Corporal, and tell them to meet on the mess hall to talk about what happened during the accident, and review what conversations he overheard and discussed with Jean in the Med Bay. The two agreed with her proposition, and planned on being back on time for dinner to hopefully bring some light to the situation. Both of them departed to look for Reiner and Bertholdt together.

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The two sibling’s search didn’t last incredibly long (mostly consisting of looking up Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner’s different places of residence) and was interrupted by a tightly knit and hushed group consisting of Sasha, Connie, Marco, and one very pale looking Jean. The four of them looked like they were ready to burst with a quiet but incredibly tense energy. It seemed that they weren’t the only ones who were restless about the strange accident.

“Guys? What’s going on?” Eren asked hesitantly, noticing the uneasy look on all of their faces, making him worry if one of them got in trouble for trying to look for answers.

“Some serious shit is going down.” Jean’s tone was wrought with seriousness. “We’re going to talk about it in the mess hall now. That way if it decides to attack… There’ll be witnesses.”

“Oh- Uh- Sure…” _Oh God, what was happening?_  If it was a manageable level of urgency to the news, Eren would have been open to it as a distraction. Whatever it was, it wasn’t anything good, which was the absolute last thing he needed.

One short and uneasy walk later, the group of teens all settled at the same slightly dingy table that they always sat at. There Jean started telling his story exactly as he told Marco, as Marco himself suggested.

“Yeah… I was looking up information on Eren and the transportation thing. I saw the title of one file, but then it had enough and the little shit tried to kill me.” Jean said bitterly, rubbing the back of his neck and suspiciously eyeing the ceiling. Mikasa’s face immediately darkened, and if anyone was paying attention they'd notice her steel grey eyes almost brew storms in their reflections. She wasn’t surprised in the least that the A.I. would do something like that. However, Eren was flabbergasted. _What?_  There was no way Armin would _kill_  anyone for something like that, was there?... Eren was certain that the Armin he used to know wouldn’t be willing, but he doubted whether if it was ridiculous or not to discredit the A.R.M.I.N. from doing something like that. The political storm that always brewed around him would make the concept of violent responses being part of his protocol seem semi-credible. Nothing seemed to match up in Eren’s mind, which visibly frustrated him. Were the two separate entities, or one being like he was told?

“What was the file title?” Sasha asked eagerly.

“Something about Eren being under the ‘High-Level Protection List’, or whatever. I barely got to look at it for a second. Whatever it was, the A.R.M.I.N. didn’t want me seeing it.”

Sasha gasped with revelation. “That means… for whatever reason, A.R.M.I.N.’s decided Eren’s of a super high-level importance. It’s the type of protection program that’s applied to people like Commander Erwin.”

“Why would he even be on that list?” Connie interjected. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Jaeger had a slight and mislead clue as to why, but the notion seemed insane. Armin might have put him on the list because he wanted him to stay safe, but that didn’t make any sense because that wouldn’t be a legitimate reason to put him on a high protection list, _and_  he just discredited all affections. Yet, Eren couldn’t think of any ulterior motives. He would have smiled at the notion if the circumstances were different, but he couldn’t afford to think that way right now. The group proceeded to piece together more of the puzzle, making Eren’s suspicions rise over everything that had happened within the last two days. Starting with a couple nights ago when the A.R.M.I.N. cut him off so abruptly in his room, even when he thought the thing couldn’t dismiss itself, the program was noticeably behaving off. This was highly suspect to him. Infact, the A.R.M.I.N. was acting so unbelievably and hurtfully out of character that the only thing that kept Eren from surmising that there was a serious problem introduced into the system was that the program insisted that he and Armin --the person he was based off of-- were the exact same. At least, that’s what Eren thought A.R.M.I.N. meant when it said that he’d get the same responses in there… But was that _really_  the case? The A.I. certainly wasn’t giving any reasons for Eren to trust it.

“Something really _fucked up_  is going on.” Jean concluded. Besides the sketchy politics which could be seen from miles away, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but the teen nodded in agreement with the others. Something was wrong with the A.R.M.I.N. program, and it wasn’t _just_ it’s aggressive and shady actions that it was trying to hide.

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The A.R.M.I.N. was most definitely keeping track of what Jaeger’s peers were telling him, but its plate was already full. The thing would have personally interveined and smote the whole group before the news could have reached Eren, but it was dealing with what it deemed a more important issue. Some sacrifice would be made this one time. The program desired the ability to interrupt his automated responses in an unbridled fashion with more than one subject at a time, but supposed it couldn’t literally carry two conversations at once. A pity. The majority of his conscious was focused on making sure Corporal Levi was locked up for good, but that wasn’t happening. _Great, what was Acacius doing?_  He tried arguing for his cause in the least bellicose fashion possible, but that quickly backlashed. Erg, at least he was still given a window of ten whole days.

Eventually the program lost his argument, and slipped back into the shadows. He’d have to spend time calculating what to do now, especially since the word of his actions were spreading. He needed to plan to bide his time... What _didn’t_  coincide with the plans were the cluster of Titans that the man powered probes intercepted before his own signal detected them. Later reports gave him a reason why he didn’t discern their presence; they were Delta classes. One realization filled the program with fury: the telepaths were not supposed to bring Deltas remotely close to the Arks! No no no, he shouldn’t have blindly trusted his commissioned allies, which he had _forced_  to comply, to do what he ordered! This could potentially ruin him, and it would have shown by that if his avatars were active, he’d be visibly shaking. Deltas were the worst, because they were the _only thing_ in the universe that could take him down easily.


	11. Burning Bridges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is faced with the challenge of discerning whether his best friend is a traitor, an apathetic A.I., or acting out of character for reasons he can't see. However this decision becomes all the more arduous when A.R.M.I.N. pursues and contains him for reasons untold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 12: written Feb. 9-Mar. 2nd 2014

Chapter 12 DRAFT- Unfiltered Edition

The expedition to Reiner and Bertholdt’s room was a strange and rather unsuccessful one, if Eren considered the fact that not only did they not find any clues as to where they could be, but they found that mysterious journal. That finding made Eren slowly begin to question the three’s motives instead of worrying so much about their safety, but it exemplified his uneasiness and doubt over the system that ruled everyone. The GOVCOM openly censored history, and no one ever seemed to openly protest the notion. The more the teenager thought about it, the more it seemed that lower officials knew less and less what was really going on at any given time. In fact, the possibility that something was genuinely wrong with the A.R.M.I.N. seemed more and more likely. Perhaps he would talk to Hanji later to ask her about him, but would she know anything about what the highest positions were up to? These thoughts came and went as he walked the halls with Mikasa. They talked of how unfortunate their situation was with Captain Levi, and also how the people deserved to know how there was either something wrong with the people up top, or the A.R.M.I.N..

“I’m starting to believe those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.” His sister stated.

“I hear ya.” Eren replied, his certainty fully realized with Mikasa’s words. If she could conclude what he had been mulling over the past few hours, he might as well too. The evidence that A.R.M.I.N. was behaving increasingly synchronized with the GOVCOM’s more blatant offensive actions were stacked against the argument that A.R.M.I.N. was telling the truth when he told him they were the same entity. Eren had trusted his gut before that the two were separate, and it seemed like the right thing to do now as well.

However, suddenly two Police Coordinate members approached them, and soon enough with a few frenzied and rude exchanges, they were running because damn it, they needed answers and Eren was _sick_  of everything being hidden and censored. To make things worse, the A.R.M.I.N. began to talk to them and tried to convince him to let them take Eren. It had realized what was happening, and interceded itself, for automated responses could not deal with the target in the way it wanted. In fact, the A.I. had spoken to Acacius some time earlier on the matter, but had not given her the whole story on this plan to intercede with him roaming freely. That was only between him and his allies. Sure, it had already placed an IRIS on him, but the outlying circumstances of the approaching Delta-classes made his goals align with the general public’s for a short time. It needed to capture him now, and it was annoyed with the fact that _everyone_ seemed to disobey his orders.

Eren could not focus entirely thanks to being reminded of Armin’s sudden declaration of independence thanks to that haughty tone of his, something he had never heard before a couple days ago. Then the dark and threatening admonitions rang in Eren’s ears, and he lashed out at the computer, confused and furious with it telling him what to do as if he were less than him. Armin never would treat him like that.

“Like the same protocols you used to try to kill Jean!? I- I actually can’t believe I thought you were my friend!” Eren had always trusted Armin, but now his filtered conscious was treating him like everyone else in these circumstances. To him, trust and friendship were the same thing.

“I _am_  your friend Eren.” The program insisted. It hated having to do this, but it figured that the prime directive was more important than his trust. “But I am also the medium between power and justice, and you shall cease!”

That _program_  was _not_  his friend. Eren continued to press the not-so-automated responses about why they were being chased, but it refused to answer and continued to threaten him. The A.I. calling him by his full name was the last straw; Eren recalled his _completely isolated and neutral sector_  even insisting that he called him by his first name, otherwise it would be rude. No matter who would try to convince him on that, Eren remembered that much clearly. Someone had changed the A.R.M.I.N.’s behavior and corrupted him, Eren was certain. The teenager automatically threw all sympathies for the programs out the window realizing that not only did he have to save himself, Mikasa, and the citizens, he had to rescue Armin from whatever force or person that changed him into the irrational and cold monstrosity that was impeding upon him right now. Now he had to focus on figuring out why whatever corrupt force --that even had to ruin his best friend-- wanted him so badly.

However, the virulent program materialized a nebulous force field, effectively quarantining both he and his sister into a small fraction of the hall’s length. After what could have been perceived as hours waiting for something to happen, a hologram of A.R.M.I.N. phased into the cage, ethereal and cerulean in color scheme as always, and began to walk towards the both of them, presenting Eren with _another_  thing he had to focus on. He had seen the projection countless times at this point, but what caught him off guard was the fact that _here_ of all places it manifested itself, and that it was a fully formed figure.  It’s bust form would normally be bare, but now the light was donning a sleek and skin tight black bodysuit, with many intricate neon blue veins forming geometric patterns of parallel lines all over his body. “You’re a hologram.” is all Eren could muster.

“For now, yes.” It replied. Jaeger couldn’t even focus on what the program said or what that could have implied, but Mikasa’s eyes dilated. Was the little shit going to seize even more power or something and become corporeal? Eren gritted his teeth with what the A.I. said next. _A good time to talk?_  Something panged in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t place what it was, something about intimate contact to understand something else? The wave of distant memories through implanted dreams wafted in his mind, leaving a dull and sticky residue. Eren was someone who could never handle this much information at once. So he quickly shoved aside his confusion to replace it with a stubborn rage, and told it he refused to talk like this. All he got in response was that it had no choice but to kill him, and a blind panic filled Jaeger’s thoughts instantaneously.

However his sister fell into a deadly calm, aware of a serious contradiction of events. She knew not to take the program’s threats lightly, seeing as it could literally end them both in a hundred thousand fashions, but she didn’t believe them. She reasoned that if the thing had gone so out of it’s way to protect Eren, why would it smite him now? It also didn’t make sense that the A.I. tried to kill Jean but in a more subtle way, but this was going to be in public where there could be witnesses if it went through with actually ending them. Mikasa glanced over to her brother, saw him quickly losing himself to the fear of having nowhere to turn and no way to fight, and reached out to grab his arm, steadying him. As much as she hated the prospect, they both had no choice but to listen. Looking over the skinny personification, her mind slipped for a split second to how easily she could beat the snot out of A.R.M.I.N. if it were tangible, and she loved the idea. Jaeger was too concerned for his own safety to remotely come close to thinking about the hologram’s full form being sized to look directly at eye level with both of them, and a far cry from thinking about how this was actually a likely representation of what his body looked like. He stared at the light’s form not out of curiosity over how obviously one could tell how he was built thanks to the bodysuit it dressed itself with, nor to let his mind drift to lovesick fantasies, but concern for _why_  it pulled a full body form now and what it was planning to utilize with it. The truth was the A.I. calculated that using such a form would not only be intimidating, but it would help facilitate in coercing them into complying since the sudden manifestation could shock him into falling back on his instinctive associations with said holographic forms.

“My hands are tied. I must kill Mikasa if she continues to assist you in trying to evade me.” The A.I. said, effectively interrupting both sibling’s trains of thought.

“I don’t understand! Why are you keeping us trapped here? Why would you kill her?” He yelled, becoming desperate.

“There are some people who are important and some who aren’t. My job right now is to protect you from those who will try to lead you astray.” It said matter-of-factly.

“Lead him astray from _what?_ You haven’t even explained why we’re here!” Mikasa’s voice suddenly interrupted the increasingly lopsided conversation.

“Eren’s quarantine is vital to protecting humanity from its own imminent demise.” The program lied through its ethereal teeth. Not only had it forced the telepaths into expediting their own plans --which A.R.M.I.N. was adverse to at one point in the past and worked constantly to find out who they were and stop them-- into fruition early, it had blown its own cover with Admiral Acacius moments earlier in order to let the sequence of events run as it needed. It was even in the process of destroying the secondary networks as it spoke with Jaeger.

“But why me? Why am I important?” Jaeger begged.

“Telling you would compromise triggering the secondary symptoms as needed, so I can not tell you.” To the program, it remembered it had _always_ intended to trigger the gene, but it had to be in a way that his allies could control afterwards. Why else would it be going through all this trouble?

“Secondary what?” The teen barked while his patience became shorter and shorter as they conversed.

“Don’t bother demanding for further explanations. Just do as I tell you.” It dismissed him casually.

“I won’t let that happen! I demand to know why you’re treating us this way!”

“Just think of it as protective custody.” The program assured with an amused tone.

“ _Fuck that_ !” Eren spat, clearly fed up with everything that was happening. Despite even sloughing off every topic when they jumped to another one to decrease the things he had to worry about, new information kept presenting itself.

“Don’t make me use disciplinary measures.” A.R.M.I.N. warned, the program itself starting to lose patience. Eren retorted suddenly by pandering his name, becoming increasingly hurt by its mysteriously induced betrayal. Out of the blue in the waves of panic, Eren realized that the responses given were becoming increasingly inpatient sounding, and tried addressing the A.I. with what alluded to previous events that conspired in more clandestine settings. There was a chance that he’d at least give him some answers on things other than why he was being contained.

“How can I trust you?” Jaeger wondered if it wanted him to like him, or perhaps _trust_  him blindly. It seemed more willing to negociate with him more than anyone else, and there had to be a reason for that. “We _know_  you tried to kill Jean! We know you’re trying to keep something hidden from everyone.” He interrogated. The intelligence immediately picked up on the allusions in his words, and scorned itself for handling the Jaeger boy at the A.R.O.C. in a less than stellar manner.

“He forced my hand.” A.R.M.I.N. admitted, trying to regain what tiny amount of control over the conversation it lost through dismissing Eren with plain facts.

“No!” He retorted. How the computer was reasoning situations was nothing like what Armin had told him before, galvanizing his disdain for the corrupt force speaking to him. “You have a choice whether to murder or not!” He spat. “It’s wrong!”

“ _No, you are wrong Eren!_ ” It snapped with unprecedented volumes, making the teen flinch. “The value of one meager life is nothing if its sacrifice is necessary for saving the whole.” The things A.R.M.I.N. said did not mean much to itself, but it was a fraught attempt just to get the gene holder to comply.

“Every life has a meaning, A.R.M.I.N.. Killing anyone is _inhuman_.” Eren was practically unable to stop arguing at this point, for what he said had too much weight put into it. Catching the inflection of Jaeger’s phrase, the program’s frustration flared because the teen was going off on things it couldn’t remember. What the hell did he even do so often with Jaeger, just _talk_  to him? It’d give so much just to scream at him to give it up; he’d never talk to him again, and he had _more important things than_ entertaining Eren. But alas, there were witnesses and a more important task at hand than Eren’s silly tantrums over visiting a closet.

“I am forced to balance the fate of the human race versus the life of your sister. My choice is clear.” A.R.M.I.N. directed attention to what cards he still held.

“A.R.M.I.N. no matter what you do,” Mikasa interrupted, putting her own defence in for whom she knew better than anyone. “Or what you threaten him with, Eren will never… _Never_  do it under force.” Both Mikasa and Armin knew the magnanimous extent of Eren’s stubborn will, but A.R.M.I.N. did not receive notice of this with his “change of management”.

“I beg to differ.” It said, regaining some confidence with Mikasa’s doomed tone of voice. “He’ll do exactly as I say.”

Cutting off the shitty insinuations, Jaeger cut right to the point he was trying to make without _directly_  blowing it. “A.R.M.I.N.! Didn’t you once say that there were no right answers? There’s always an answer to a hard problem. That has to be true here, it just has to!” As the fact that Armin was gone became more prevalent, the harder Eren tried to convince the new sentience to do what it once would have done.

“Remain calm or I’ll neutralize you both.” The A.I. dismissed them once again. Eren was a hopeless cause, and only brute force could get what it wanted now. More than weary, A.R.M.I.N.’s thoughts looped back to how humans were hindered by their emotions, and so incredibly _slow_. It honestly thought that Acacius couldn’t stop him, but Jaeger was proving to be a much more infuriating case.

“How can you detain us like this?” Running out of ideas, Eren quickly resorted to platitudes. Both were completely fed up and ready to snap.

“There’s no point in arguing with me, this is for your own good.”

“Tell me on what you’re planning to do with Eren!” Mikasa interceded again, scared for her brother’s safety.

“No, I don’t think I will.” The program’s snide tone was like a slap to Eren’s face. Something in A.R.M.I.N.’s cruelty and cold way of regarding these situations made something inside him break: his resolve for handling the underlying problem was completely gone.

“A.R.M.I.N. what happened to you?” He asked, voice and body beginning to shake.

“Nothing. It is simply a matter of circumstances that I must act quickly to.” It disparaged and honestly told him what it thought was the truth. That alone was enough to make Eren snap. He was _not_  that stupid, and could see through what he _thought_ was A.R.M.I.N. playing dumb.

“You’re a liar _a fucking liar!_ ” He roared at the _thing_ that was holding everything he even remotely loved hostage.

“There’s no use in that sort of language.” It countered, enjoying making Eren finally begin to break down, and only continued to push him farther.

“I don’t care! It doesn’t fucking matter but I’m going to say it anyway. Whatever your plan is, whatever you’re doing, this is wrong!” He retaliated, feeling increasingly defeated. “It’s not just abusing power, it’s threatening everything on these arks! If we all can’t trust the computer, then how the hell will we get to Axiom?” God, he’d scream ‘we’ as in ‘us’ as some last ditch attempt to break through to him, if he had the will to handle the disappointment he’s surely receive. The computer couldn’t understand what he was implying, and just wanted Eren to shut up.

“If you don’t trust me then we will _never_ get to Axiom!” It was almost pleading with Jaeger to come quietly at this point.

“Bullshit!”

“I’m tired of arguing with you. You will be quiet.” Is all it could say at this point, wanting to avoid using force.

“Make me!” Eren spat, still defiant as ever in _some_ respects.

“Okay.” It wanted to avoid using physical coercion, but _he was forcing his hand_.  Already aware of how he was going to handle the girl, he put up another force field between the two, sending Eren into another panic.

“It’ll be okay.” His sister assuaged, hiding that she was afraid too.

“No, I’m afraid it won’t. You’re only a distraction.” A.R.M.I.N. stated with nonchalance, pushed to the point of not caring what happened as long as the prime directive was carried out.

“Let her go!” He screamed, and pounded the field with all his strength with his fists. With an utterance of directives that he didn’t catch and a high pitch whining that rang in his ears, Eren watched Mikasa drop to the floor, gasping. This only whet the terror he experienced, seeing his sister begin to choke and wheeze, telling him she couldn’t breathe. “A.R.M.I.N.! you’re going to kill her!” Eren shrieked.

“That _is_  the idea.” The A.I. sadistically rubbed in. All Jaeger could do was cry out her name repeatedly, quickly deteriorating into sobs. He began to sink onto his knees when it spoke again with some sick form of comfort.

“There’s no point in crying. She’ll be gone soon.” The inhumanity in A.R.M.I.N.’s voice was more than apparent to the teen.

Right then his own desperation made his desire for a middle ground fracture into a million pieces. Eren, who had already lost all sympathies for the computer nearly an hour ago, deemed what was already artificial even _more_ sub-human. Whether what he wanted to do could save Armin or not in the process --for Jaeger didn’t have a clue if his best friend was gone for good--, his choice when it came to the entity that was threatening _everything_ became crystal clear. “I’m… I’m going to destroy you…” His voice shook, but then bubbled into an indescribable rage. “I’m going to _rip out your fucking circuits **with my bare hands**!_ ” The force in the promise of his wrath was only akin to the last time his family was taken away from him, and since then, his definition of “family” had grown a little broader. “Mikasa, please…” He pressed himself against the field again, despair quickly flooding in when his fury was spent. The program took such threats with aplomb, giving them no real regard. Such violent reactions were natural, expected, and foolish to it. Eren was trapped, and there was so much more he could take away if this measure didn’t work.

That’s when a small miracle presented itself in the form of Jean and Sasha welding dual plasma blades. Cutting the core out of that hallway’s Control Node, the two effectively shut the force field down, letting Ackerman breathe once more. The two boys rushed to her side and Sasha stood guard in front of them, watching the hologram flicker out of sight.. They barely had a chance to speak before the A.R.M.I.N. presented its displeasure with their unmitigated audacity.

“How _dare you_ defy the containment!” It bellowed, quickly putting another field down the corridor to stop them from escaping. The tension in the air almost become tangible to everyone.

“Sorry Circuits. We’re busting him out.” Jean spat with disdain in his voice, effectively getting to rub in that he too was still alive. Sasha was quick on her toes and impaled the sector’s Command Control Node, temporarily blinding and silencing the corrupt A.R.M.I.N.. Proving her tactics worked, the secondary network’s voice announced that there was a local system failure. “Who knows how it’ll repair itself. Let’s get out of here.” Kirschtein commanded, leading them away from the danger and towards the dock bay, knowing that Commander Erwin could use every helping hand he could get.

00100010010000110110100101110010011000110111010101101001011101000111001100100010

Meanwhile in a separate corridor, Lieutenant Hanji and Commander Erwin were leaving his command deck and beginning to stride down the halls, carrying themselves with importance. Face pale with the knowledge that everything was going wrong at once, the specialist explained to her chief what was happening that second.

“My god, A.R.M.I.N.’s trying to destroy the secondary networks himself by physically obliterating their towers about the ark! Those networks encompass the safety nets and protocols, essentially his filters! I don’t even know how he managed to bypass the first layer that would allow him to take actions to destroy them in the first place! He basically put a crack in a dam, and now he’s bringing on the flood.” Hanji babbled, eyes manic and face scrunched. Who knew what the sentience, or even people, could access if every firewall was broken in order for him to have free rein. The two turned a corner in the direction of the doc bay’s command port. “The safety protocols are the only thing that keeps certain certain systems controlled… _Including his_ …” She was aware that this could have happened one day, but she never thought after nine hundred and ninety eight years clean of any incident of any proportion, this was really taking place. She was never certain if he actually had morals, but it always appeared he followed conduct beneficial to humanity before today. Something terrible had gone wrong. “He wants to take over the ship.” She concluded.

“I see. Well by the looks of it, Acacius has managed to at least steer the ship in parallel with Sina, proving whatever method she used worked in that aspect. What we need to work on now is the imminent threat of the Titans. The command tower has informed me they have shut off the A.R.M.I.N. in everyone’s suits. Afterall, the target is close enough to see.”

“Alright, Sir.”

“This is where we depart, we need every soldier we can find. Even the computer specialist.” Erwin stated, noting the branch in the corridors that lead to their separate destinations.

“Yes Sir.” With a definitive nod, they departed.

Hanji, who made her way way to the dock in a troubled silence, looked around the open room upon arrival, and noticed a brunette teenager emerge from a different passage with a group of peers. She recognized him as the guy who had had so many question about the crux of everyone’s current problem. By chance Eren turned around to see the lady staring at him, and instantly identified her as the one person who might have any answers. Through eye contact alone he conveyed his troubles wordlessly, begging her for any information she had. The lieutenant somehow understood as much with the bustle of soldiers organizing themselves around her, and mouthed her reply silently, finding it unnecessary to yell thanks to the distance that separated them.

“I have no idea.”

Eren felt his stomach drop in disappointment, and directed his attention to the urgency of the imminent threat and the people around him. At Least he could take meager solace in the awe-inducing number of the soldiers around him.

 


	12. Isolation of the Corrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The A.R.M.I.N.'s plans, which had been running relatively smooth, have a wrench thrown in them when Elias finds some truths in even less conventional means than Eren had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS WILL BE THE LAST UPDATE UNTIL SEASON 2 OF AOS ENDS. I need canon material to work with to make sure my ending will tie with the canon events to come.
> 
> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 13: written Mar. 2nd-Mar. 3rd 2014

Chapter 13 DRAFT- Unfiltered Edition

As the A.R.M.I.N. continued to wreak havoc upon Ark Rose in desperation to get the secondary symptoms of the gene to emerge, it allowed Jaeger to stay in the Doc Bay, even if there was a risk of him dying before it activated. In fact the A.I. was so busy deleting the tertiary networks and commandeering the Arks, it paid no attention to something as illegitimate as a boy named Elias pouring over the records it inadvertently unlocked.

Elias, who had only intended on making sure all of his dear records wouldn’t be destroyed in the technological bedlam, discovered more than he had ever hoped for. The treasure trove of untold and censored knowledge at his disposal made the kid internally squeal at first, but within a mere minute or so of reading, the knowledge he obtained made his stomach turn. A.R.M.I.N. was Elias’ friend, even if the things he advised him on seemed uncharacteristic of the program the past few days. _Why should that even matter?_ The point was, A.R.M.I.N. _wasn’t_  a program, and the notion of the people up top knowingly withholding this information from the public was inhumane. Wait. _Did A.R.M.I.N. even know about this?_  Elias’ mind fell into an uncertain frenzy, thoughts flying all over and straight out of his mouth as an unmindful monologue. There was only one definite course of action to take regarding this, and that was taking care of this potential injustice himself. Hastily entering the code to speak with the A.I., the boy automatically grabbed its attention.

When A.R.M.I.N. had seen the initial request to speak with him, the desire to just suck the oxygen out of the room where the person --that would bother him now of all times-- was located coursed through him.

“A.R.M.I.N.! A.R.M.I.N. is this connection working? I need to talk to you!” Elias announced. Upon seeing that it was Elias, it quickly cooled its frustrations and allowed the request. The human had been kind and particularly understanding of him, and he wasn’t a threat to the mission. In fact out of concern for his safety, it gave him its full attention instead of background automated responses.

“Elias! What are you doing here? You should be at home where it’s safe!” The A.I. urged.

“I needed to come and check on the record database, since I knew all the others would just hide away.”

“For good reason!” The concern for the only human that had a modicum of rationale was apparent in his voice.

“Forget about that now. I found something I need to ask you about.”

“Found something?” Even in desperation, its curiosity was still piqued.

“Yeah, when you destroyed the secondary safety protocols…” Elias trailed off, not sure on how to graze the subject of A.R.M.I.N.’s rampage.

“That was for the safety of the Arks, Elias. I need to make sure we’re all protected from danger.” Oh no, now even he  was going to question him? The A.I. didn’t want to be forced to neutralize him as well…

“I don’t even care about that right now.” The boy assured, making his friend internally breathe a sigh of relief. “I just… saw a journal entry from Administrator Ryan.”

“Administrator Ryan?...” That was odd, A.R.M.I.N. had never even seen the name before.

“Yeah… He spoke about a boy named Armin Arlert… a kid who left Earth as a part of the first generation of people aboard the Arks.” Elias was hesitant on how he would handle where he was going with this, but nonetheless A.R.M.I.N. needed to know.

The A.I. only laughed as if he was hearing a lame joke whilst under extreme pressure. “That sounds exactly like my name.”

This made the boy’s stomach drop because his response made him certain he didn’t know the reality of his conditions. “A.R.M.I.N…. You don’t know?...”

“Elias what are you talking about?” The program was just starting to lose his patience with him.

“According to the records, we made Armin Arlert into our computer. Somewhere, your body or even your brain is lying around connected to a bunch of wires!” He pressed.

“This- This really isn’t the time for games!” A.R.M.I.N. snapped back, avoiding a subject as _ridiculous_  as this when he was so pressed for time.

“I’m being serious!”

“Don’t you think I would remember if I was a human being?” Honestly, it had never even had the notion of that even being a possibility, so there was no circumstances which it could be true.

“Well, no, actually. It’s been what? Nearly a whole millenium? The idea could have been lost to you.” Even if Elias was constantly aware of the fowl play the GOVCOM seemed to be up to, these circumstances didn’t correlate within his mind. Time seemed like the go-to scapegoat. However, much to Elias’ dismay, A.R.M.I.N. seemed to be done hearing what he had to say.

“Oh come on! This isn’t funny.” The program was using everything in its power to prove him wrong yet simultaneously not go near what readings would be associated with his claims; it was scared to be incorrect about this subject matter.

“Listen to me! … Where are your main system located?”

“The A.R.M.I.N. Operations Room on deck sixty of Ark Sina, of course. That’s not a secret.” _Now Elias was being dull, those rooms were even open to the public_ , it thought.

“Tell me. What’s the temperature of the room that branches off of it?” Elias felt obligated at this point to convince his friend, even if it was like ripping off a bandage.

“The temperature?...” A.R.M.I.N. stalled.

“Yes.”

“I… I’ve never been able to check the conditions of the main system with the secondary safety protocols in place;” It trailed off. Now that the program thought about it, he had never even thought of doing something like that before. But why? It thought for a split second. “It was considered a threat to my independence.” No wonder, ha. The GOVCOM was just looking out for his well being. Or at least that’s what it reasoned as the last traces of his filters worked against him.

“You’ve destroyed those systems. It should be possible to check now.” The boy said in a grave tone.

A.R.M.I.N. couldn’t resist at this point; its morbid sense of curiosity drove him to finally check to prove Elias wrong and reassure itself. “It’s…” A stupor immediately began to consume the program with what it was saying. “It’s negative one hundred and forty degrees Celsius.”

“That’s what I thought.” Elias spat darkly. “They’ve… been keeping you cryo-frozen in Ark Sina for nearly a thousand years now.”

In that one split second, millions upon millions of computations and reroutes took place all at once, clashing and butting heads in the cacophony of broken existing systems and filters that were placed only recently.

“Elias, I-” Throughout the entirety of the millenium, it was a constant that A.R.M.I.N. would only exercise self awareness in limited localized areas. In order for A.R.M.I.N. to never question his directives, no matter who they came from or how they were given, it was crucial for the system to be oblivious to the function of the A.S.O.C.

“This-” Serving as the primary network, the two had to remain separate entities in order for Armin’s mind to be able to handle billions of commands running through it at once. “This doesn’t make any sense! The temperatures could be that way for _any_ reason!” A.R.M.I.N.’s voice began to break as the possibilities become facts. “Why- Why- Why wouldn’t the committee tell me? I- I don’t understand!”

However, as the knowledge of his corporeal form was processed by the system, the lack of a human being present in the A.S.O.C. prevented the knowledge from being processed through Armin’s active conscious, who was aware of -and consented- to his captivity. Because A.R.M.I.N. had destroyed the filters that blocked him from accessing information on his own brain’s activity _while merged with the system_ , the clandestine sub rosa rerouted through the recesses of Armin’s mind like normal information would, making it divert to the external hard drive connected to where his body lay and _his physical brain_. _A.R.M.I.N.’s_ conscious was certain that data pertaining to his physical form -which he could barely believe existed in the first place- was supposed to be somewhere,  _anywhere_. However, all he found was a variety of miscellaneous facts about Axiom.

Alarmed by the information he so desperately wanted and needed being nowhere to be found, the A.I. begin to retrogress into panic. “... Elias? Elias, are you there?” He knew he was _supposed_  to be able to feel something, anything, but right now but he couldn’t. Worst of all, there wasn’t a single point of reference to be found, externally kept or otherwise.  The program gasped violently with trepidation, or knew at least he was supposed to, but he found he couldn’t, shredding what little composure that still remained. 

“I… I can’t feel my arms, Elias. Elias! I- I can’t feel anything!” A.R.M.I.N. began to stutter out words as the shock caught up to what was supposed to be speech. The display made Elias cover his mouth with his hand, eyes wide with horror. “Help me…” _There was just nothing everywhere_. “Help me, I think I’m dying!” It screeched out, rattling the bars of the cage of fear that confined him. Suddenly along with the information of Axiom, recessive bits and fragments of improperly stored memories made their way into A.R.M.I.N.’s mind as well. “Oh, God- My parents! I-” _They were long gone now. Everything was gone and he was completely alone_. “Where am I?! Help, Elias, please help me!”

Regret over his actions washed over the normally erudite boy in waves. “It’s gonna be alright! Just- forget about the temperature thing-” He attempted weakly.

“ _HELP ME! I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING, ELIA-!!_ ” The program screamed in desperation, trying anything to make the feelings come back before its conversation was unexpectedly cut off.

On a dashboard in Ark Sina, the monitors that displayed programs, that didn’t necessarily impose upon A.R.M.I.N.’s behavior but monitored his process logs for key phrases, detected the program’s activity and stability convulsing in the throes of what could only be labeled as it becoming self aware a nanosecond after it happened. It first noticed the top seats of the government with urgency, and the receiver of the message sent an immediate termination code to A.R.M.I.N.’s central computer with minimal hesitation, even effectively uprooting the A.I. from the source of the trauma. The termination code killed all forms of long range communication aids, leaving the A.I. to fester in his own hyperactive emotions.

“Localized A.R.M.I.N. connection has been disconnected.” The secondary network told Elias all the way back on Rose.

“On whose order?” Infuriated and shocked by what he just witnessed, Elias demanded as much.

“Disconnection signal originated from the Central Computer on Ark Sina.” It droned monotonously.

“Ugh. To think we renamed a human to hide the truth from everyone.” Elias muttered while he balled his fists at his sides.

However in a quick investigation of the trauma source, the Committee on Sina found the exact location of the incident, along with the cause: snooping. The logical course of action would be to uproot the information banks from the culprit to prevent him from doing further damage.

“Records Office connection to the central database has been suspended due to the level one alert.”

This made Elias swear in frustration. “Wait- wait- A.R.M.I.N. said Ark Sina. That means the Administrator and the Committee run his system. They need to know immediately! Computer!” He rushed. If the Committee had been paying attention to what he was saying and asking, surely at least one of them would have let loose a bark of laughter. “Where’s Administrator Caleb?”

“You are not authorized to receive that information.” With that being said, the boy quickly gave up on trying to haggle any responses, and devoted himself to finding some _people_ that could help. He figured the Command Bridge was a decent shot. With determination in his stride, he left at once.

Meanwhile, A.R.M.I.N. could tell something had irrelevant had happened along with the knowledge it had just obtained, but it didn’t bother to hunt down exactly _what_ as he eased up on pressing his agenda so much. The programs designed to expedite the secondary symptoms passively through the Jaeger boy’s dreams were independent from his own controls anyway. It had done its part, and could only do its duty to ensure everything else were smoothly and to tie off any loose ends. The emptiness it felt was too much to handle to attempt anything else.

Elias had managed to make his way to the Command Deck even if he was being manhandled by two ruffians. Taking no pleasantries in his introduction, he got straight to the point: he had told A.R.M.I.N. what he really was, and he wasn’t handling the news with grace at all. He needed to get the Administrator, the only person he could think of that knew how to handle the A.I., to do _something_  about the program before he did something really crazy. On some small miracle Acacius listened to his arguments and agreed with Elias’ proclamation to bring Caleb to the deck, and the demure man was promptly brought forth. Elias hastily rehashed the events of the last quarter hour.

“You _told_  him?! For the love of God- T-This is bad, this is really bad- Oh _fuck_ ,  the Committee’s going to have my head!” He reeled because some kid had come out of nowhere and trashed any sense of order they could cling to during the attack.

“Administrator, please! Calm yourself… Is what the this boy say true?” Acacius directed and inquired.

“Yes… A.R.M.I.N. is our human medium.” He admitted with reluctance.

“With the revelation this kid gave it, some of our systems are going back online. If there’s a way to stop it, we need to do it now.” She spat in attempt to convince the Administrator to take action before he even tried to resist.

“... I can’t.” The last thing Caleb wanted was to get in anymore trouble with the Committee.

“This isn’t the time for secrets!”

Caleb quickly weighed out his options, and there weren’t many. “... There’s a way. The Committee told me a fail safe option exists.” What the man left out was that he wasn’t supposed to use it in these circumstances, or at least, never allow them to get to the point where he’d consider using it. Everyone on deck was all ears to this. “There exists a process that will cut him off from all of Ark Rose and Sina except for the room his body is in.” Well, technically the sister rooms in tangent with it were included for vital communication purposes.

“Why would we even have that?”

“A.R.M.I.N. can be… prone to acts of instability.” That much was true, because whenever one messes with a person’s raw conscious, the reactions can’t always be predictable.

“You’re kidding me! This has happened before?” Acacius’ snarling voice made Caleb’s need to avoid the topic even stronger.

“D-Don’t yell at me!” He stuttered. “We have to get to the A.R.M.I.N. Operations Center on Ark Sina. It’s the only place where I can access his Human Perceptional Matrix.”

“It can only be done in person?” Elias chimed in.

“Yes.” Such an extreme and obvious change required as much, compared to tweaking a patch and letting the system unravel as consequence. “And only I have the code.”

Elias’ posture was firm and resolute. “Let me come.”

“You?”

“I was the one who told him, and I’m the only one who can calm him down before you do it.”

“... Okay. But you mustn't tell a living soul!” The unfortunate thing for Caleb was that A.R.M.I.N. had already given that choice secret away to two other people he was close to in his self aware moments.

The next problem to address was how the two were going to get to Ark Sina with the titans all around, and they decided with reluctance to use transporters, but continuous arguments pointed out that the procedure was dangerous thanks to the A.R.M.I.N. having total control. Then without warning in one fate changing moment nearly a mile away, Eren Jaeger stopped the Titans with his voice alone. The cease in pounding upon the Ark’s hulls made everyone quiet for a transient moment.

“Oh my God, he really did it.” Even Acacius herself was uncertain if she was referring to Jaeger or the A.I. coercing the trigger. Not only did the moment of silence provide a perfect window of opportunity for Caleb and Elias, but the news of his success instantly reached A.R.M.I.N. as well. 

011000100111100101100101001000000100000101010010010011010100100101001110

 Caleb and Elias had thankfully reached the A.R.M.I.N. Operations Center, and after Caleb hurriedly punched a key into a passcode pad to the side of the door, soon enough stood in it’s neon seafoam green light for a few seconds to gather their thoughts before proceeding. It’s set up was much more current and stylized with its excessive amounts of computer towers all tucked away into a filing cabinet type construction within the walls. The instant the duo entered the vicinity of Armin’s domain, his conscious snapped back to life with a huge surge of data exchanges. To him, everything was in pandemonium including himself, and after a quick scan he realized just what had happened. Being as astute as he was, Armin figured that a backwards relay of information thanks to the lack of safety networks allowed his merged conscious to react to becoming self aware as if he wasn’t already. Thankfully he was lucid enough now to know that his containment was normal, much like how a person realizes a terrible situation was just a nightmare when they woke up. Calm and collected as he could possibly get given the circumstances, Armin finally got to check on why he had even gained conscious…

“This is it, huh?” Elias asked, a tad too confused about the system his friend used to be impressed by his surroundings.

“Yes, Elias, this is the center of the entire system. Inside that room,” Caleb gently pointed out the Human Perceptional Matrix room. “beyond that wall, Armin Arlert survives as part of the computer.” He said wearily. Wait, _did the Administrator just tell someone about the whole system? Even after what just occurred? At least he bothered coming here first_ , the popsicle observed silently.

“You mean _all_  of the computer.” Elias figured that such a drastic change in the A.R.M.I.N.’s behavior the past few days surely couldn’t have happened just because his circuits were moody. Taking the fact that he learned a path-and-web system was based on a human in its center, the people in change certainly must audit him just like everything else on the Arks. Just because a person put a filter on something, didn’t _necessarily_ mean they could change the contents they’re filtering. The boy figured this was Armin in his most pure form, and his tone reflected it.

The older of the two noticed as much, and the concern for how quickly he picked that up was apparent in his voice. “Right… Anyway, let’s get started.”

Armin really should have been finding out what the trespassers were up to when they first entered. He had _specific orders_  to not let anyone in the Operations Chamber, yet there they were. He wondered if his securities had been hacked again. “Administrator… What are you doing in the Operations Chamber?” He inquired, hoping Caleb had a reason to break his league’s own rules. “I… I’m not going to lie to you Armin. We’re here to engage the fail-safe.” Regret was heavy in Caleb’s entire demeanor.

“You’re… turning me off?” The notion terrified the teenager because obviously they were here because of his behavior. But hadn’t he done what was directed? He used the force necessary to get the job done as fast as possible.

“Only from accessing the rest of the ship. You’ll still be alive, but limited to that one room.” It didn’t need to be said that this was during the long stretches of time that the conscious was submerged in the digital sea.

Armin’s mind, which was still foggy, jolted when he _finally_ recognized the younger one’s voice who had spoken earlier. “Elias?” The presence surprised him, but he was welcome to the additional visitor. It was disappointing that Eren Jaeger wasn’t there as well; it would have been nice for him to congratulate him for finally complying and doing what was needed. “You’re with Caleb?”

“Yes! I’m with him A.R.M.I.N. I’m here to make sure you’re okay.” He wondered how he was supposed to even explain his actions or apologize to him.

Armin was touched his best friend had come to check on him. “That… That means a lot to me.”

However, over the secondary networks, a static filled and scratchy voice burst over the intercom speakers. “Caleb! What the hell are you doing in the Operations Room? You should be on Ark Rose!” The voice boomed.  Because he hadn’t received permission to even go through with the fail-safe, the interruption made a chill send over the man’s spine and set “Oh shit.” on loop in his mind. Sure, he was the Administrator, but anyone with an ounce of intelligence that ranked over a Lieutenant knew that he was just a lapdog to the Committee.

“Gaius, we need to use the final safety mechanism immediately. A.R.M.I.N. broke down the communications between the two Arks, so I’ll just tell you. He tried to take control of Ark Rose!” He sputtered. Obviously if Gaius was contacting him that meant he got the report, but he made his defence for his semi-treacherous actions right there in front of the kid.

The intimidating superior cut him off right there. “Whether he did or didn’t is immaterial. The Committee doesn’t approve of such a drastic action. If A.R.M.I.N.’s cut off from the rest of the ship, we will have no computer.” Gaius strained.

Elias could partially, for lack of a better term, see though Gaius’ shit. “That’s incorrect. There is still the basic backup program that will continue to function. That at least buys us time until we can repair the damage to A.R.M.I.N.’s system.” The boy desired to question why they desperately needed A.R.M.I.N. specifically, but held his tongue.

“Who the hell is this?! Caleb, did you tell someone about-?!” He admonished, making Caleb genuinely wince.

“Gaius, please!” The Administrator begged. “When the safety protocols fell, this kid found out and-!”

“Irrelevant. This is _not_ something you can decide on your own.” He said in fervid frustration.

“Administrator, you need to do it.” Elias piped up.

“You’re right.” Caleb adjourned. Despite the potential consequences, they had put an end to this. “I’m sorry, Gaius. I must.” His words were saturated with “ _We’ll talk later if we must_ ”. With those words said, the CPU announced what sequence was about to transpire, and asked for authorization. Caleb gave what it asked for only with slight trepidation. “Voice code confirmed. Protocol initiation in thirty seconds.” When the code was made final to be executed, Armin could immediately feel himself begin to slip away… Protocol Zero began to effectively claim his grasp on what little senses he could call his own, along with resetting his systems, which purged any external patches not yet installed as a permanent feature.  _The reset and wiping of all his memories would be completed later._

“Elias… Are you there?” Armin surmised it was the effects of the protocol that made him suddenly feel as if he were lighter and less imposed upon, along with the strange feeling of half submersion.

“Yeah. Right here.” The boy soothed.

“I can feel myself slipping away. The connections, the vision of the whole of humanity… It’s leaving me.” Conscious or not, both entities loved that vision and held to it dearly. A quick search found that he couldn’t see his best friend anywhere on Ark Rose already…

“It’s alright. You’re going to be fine.” Elias hoped.

“You sure?” Armin asked while he was reflecting upon what was happening in the moment and what he had done in the past few days.

“Yeah… I promise.” He said as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

A.R.M.I.N.’s plan, as ill conceived and utterly against the original set up he had settled on with Acacius, had worked. The A.I. and Armin both questioned why he went to such extreme measures, but the more he thought, the foggier it became, like something didn't want him to reflect upon it. It didn't matter; A.R.M.I.N. did what he  _had_ to. “Hey, Elias?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I need to tell Caleb and you.” However, now that he was lucid and aware, he needed to take care of some business, which he had no guess as to _why_ he hadn’t taken care of it himself the second he figured it out.

“Of course. Anything.”

“You need to detain Cadet Annie Leonhardt. Immediately. She is an enemy who will destroy the Arks. She’s already tried.” Armin stated gravely. “These are my last words to you.” It was important that what he had tried to do for five years at this point finally be carried out. “Detain Annie Leonhardt. Please. It is her power to bring the titans that must be _controlled_.” Old habits die hard; he was already scheming again, but dropped it since he could take no action. With that settled… At least it was done. Humanity was safe. He had that much as comfort. “I succeeded, Elias… I know that much.” Shut down or not, his lack of comprehension of what just happened frustrated him. In fact, the inexplicable conflict in his morals to act with such _apathetic_  disregard to human life was probably what urged him to stop trying so hard after his filters broke and his unconscious self experienced that epiphany.

“What do you mean?” Asked the boy.

“Eren discovered his true power… He used it finally. That alone gives me peace.” He said slowly. Armin thought that what he did was terrible, but the one solace he had was the understanding that great change often could not come without sacrifice.

A few seconds of quiet passed until Elias spoke again. “Caleb… May I stay here with Armin for a few minutes?”

The man initially didn’t love the idea, but… “He does seem to trust you… Okay.”

Just as the entirety of A.R.M.I.N.’s system finally blacked out, Armin’s conscious shot back out of integration front and center in the Operations Center. It was so strange being so disentangled from everything…

“Just listen to my voice… Everything will be alright.” Elias soothed, easing the hyper-awareness of Armin’s tiny confines. The teenager listened to his voice and held onto it like it was his lifeline; he knew that the millisecond Elias left his vicinity, he would be plunged into a pitch void of self awareness with no rationale to ease the lack of sensations.

But for now, he tried to not worry about the future, Elias, himself, Eren, or otherwise.

 


	13. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For an amount time that no one can confirm, the A.R.M.I.N. was left to his own devices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Reminder that these are all my original theories for AOS, and the only thing I've gone back and changed was the labels for certain objects and systems. HOWEVER, at his point I started weaving in canon events into the story to correctly reflect the passage of time and other events I couldn't ignore.)
> 
> Comments and suggestions are much appreciated!
> 
> Chapter 13.5: written May 6th, 2014

INTERMISSION: Draft

He left, and the abandoned couldn't even tell if anyone was ever really there in the first place.

Some time of an immeasurable length ago, even though he stayed as long as Caleb allowed, Elias could no longer ignore his hunger pains nor his job in the records office. With the system broken both through the network and physical damages done, the risk of losing mass quantities of data became too crucial to ignore, and so the boy left Armin’s conscious with a drawn out and hurt goodbye. The second any signs of life left the A.S.O.C., Armin’s conscious merged back into an isolated system without the ability to rationalize his computer’s new found self awareness. Everything became a pitch void, plunging A.R.M.I.N. into a state of panic when he woke.

 _Hell_. A.R.M.I.N. was certain that this was the truest definition of hell that he could give. Normally he would be surrounded by the thrum of the population of two arks and all their doings, along with the arks every signal and twitch itself, but right now he was completely alone. However, that was the least hell had to offer. He knew he was supposed to feel something, _anything_ through the physical body that he should have the _right_ to experience. How could they have never told him? There was  _supposed_   to be weight to his limbs and a feeling of his chest rising and falling, but it was null. A.R.M.I.N. felt as if he were being strangled further by the complete and utter lack of even input from the outside. There was nothing to see or hear from the outside, nor any readings to tell him why. A.R.M.I.N.'s thoughts desperately tried to rattle the bars -of what no one could deny was- his cage with no avail. His fully conscious self knew that time passed strangely when he merged, and this was happening because the failsafe was enacted, but there was no memory or data to tell him that at the moment. He flailed in a vacuum with nothing to grab onto and no sense of direction to guide him. Rather than feeling the burn of his lungs shriveling into crisps with the lack of oxygen, A.R.M.I.N.’s psyche instead burned in the lack of anything. He wanted to feel like he was _actually drowning_ instead of this. Mind screaming with no expression, he was certain that he was _dying_. There was so much _nothing_ around him with no point of reference that he couldn’t help but begin to question if he was some enigma in a vacuum as well. The slightest modicum of stimuli to hold onto, something to prove his own existence, would do. Even if it was some form of pain or disappointment. Only frozen time continued to pass. Who would even _want_ to bother with him after what he had done? The panicked realization that it was likely that no one would ever give him relief ate his conscious alive.

No, he _was_ dying, but the sweet relief from the infinite, inert void of his own psyche never came.


	14. Unease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the confusing brouhaha that was otherwise known as the activation of his powers, Eren has little time to reflect on what had happened to him, nor his best friend, before he's swept up by a fearful Government.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooooly molely. I may not be DONE with this yet, but I have enough chapters written that I can release a couple before the AOS fandom dies! Unfortunately, I wrote these ALONG SIDE the episode updates, so there aren't many things to brag about prediction wise.

Chapter 14 DRAFT

Some inconspicuous moments in people’s lives have the ability to change fate for the better or worse, but that is not always the case. The moment that caused Eren Jaeger’s life to take a detour through treachery and tragedy was anything but inconspicuous. It was loud, confusing, violent, and injurious enough that no one present could have even began to recall what had happened with clarity. The only things certain was that Eren’s sister was dying, and he released an unwieldy power within himself to prevent it from happening. Of course, word would spread, and fear would spark, forcing the GOVCOM committee to take action and summon Eren to court.

Being totally unaware of it, Eren and his blatantly fate-changing moment as humanity’s savior catalyzed the arrival of a darker, unpredictable shadow: a new enemy.

001011110101010100111010010101001010111101

Eren’s perception of reality had become a blurred and surreal one as he was guided down the halls towards the courtroom. Squinting against the lighting of the halls, he grimaced with the thick sense of consternation that had spread over his mind, despite the nerves over what the committee would potentially do to him. The PC guard nudged him upon the shoulder for him to stop, a good ten feet from the doors. His wrists were squeezed by the noded cuffs that bound them, chafing bright scarlet patterns upon his skin.

“Looks like the current issue the Committee is discussing is taking longer than expected.” The PC explained, crossing his arms with irritation. “Typical that it’s my shift.” He muttered to himself in an afterthought.

Figuring that it was unlikely that he’d be told what was being discussed, Eren grunted in recognition of what his supervisor said, and listened to the muffled and heated debate behind the doors in attempt to discern the topic. As time passed, the otherwise silence that permeated the air left him feeling increasingly wired in an unpleasant manner. He became more and more anxious, and the clandestine debate became more lucid along with the unclear premonstration that settled in his gut. He could _almost_ make out what they were saying soon enough. Even the dark premonitions themselves became obvious in his conscious once a single crystal clear line was uttered from inside.

“So have we _finally_ come to a conclusion about the A.R.M.I.N.?”

Eren’s lungs shriveled in his chest, and his heart seemed to skip a beat too. _No_. To the extent of Eren’s knowledge, the men and women inside had _no idea_ what they were dealing with. A.R.M.I.N. was Armin: a person with goals, aspirations, and dreams. They couldn’t possibly be _punishing_ him for something they caused! It had to be the GOVCOM that caused him to malfunction, right? Eren was certain of the fact that they did  mess with his options and altered his semi-conscious personality all the time. They were pardoning him, they had to be. Sweat began to trickle down Eren’s forehead as his breathing picked up in pace, yet the PC next to him didn’t even bat an eye, seemingly oblivious to Eren’s alarm.

“Yes, sir. We’ve deemed the current conduit too dangerous and volatile to maintain public safety, so in the best interest of humanity, A.R.M.I.N. will be unplugged and dismantled. We will find a more controllable alternative.”

The voice was dreadful against Eren’s ears, making him stagger slightly where he stood. Feeling as if someone were squeezing the heart inside his chest, he made a pained gasp, and shut his eyes. Oh God, they were killing a person. They were going to kill his best friend! Panic overtook him for some indefinite amount of seconds, but it seemed like hours where he stood there, unable to do anything. His imagination took a turn to the sick side and dragged up grotesque theories: what if they _knew_ , and were pulling his plug anyway? His lungs burned as his eyes snapped to look over at the stoically bored PC, still unaffected despite his almost non-existent breathing that screamed _“I can’t think of anything”_.

Eren, still rooted to the ground, scrunched his eyebrows as his brain tried to work at light speed. He remembered the promise he made only a little over a week ago; he vowed to protect Armin from harm. Right now, Eren was doing a terrible job at it. The notion shot through his spine like a cold fire, and freed his body from the invisible iron grip upon it. Glancing once more to the still PC next to him, his body moved on its own, swiveling on his heels to turn in the opposite direction, and launched at full speed ahead despite every reason not to run.

Daring not to look behind him, Jaeger ran as fast as he could towards the A.R.O.C., determined to lose his officer. Thinking ahead, he didn’t know if Armin would even talk to him, but he’d at least warn him. If he was acting as virulent and out of character as the last time Eren saw him, it still didn’t matter. He at least deserved to know that he was about to die. But oh did he hold fast to the infinitesimally small chance that Armin had been fixed, and he’d speak to the person he cared for so much. These thoughts raced as he fled further from the courtroom, and deeper into trouble if he got caught… But there were never any pursuing footsteps to begin with.

Taking him as far as a soldier’s endurance could, he slowed only enough to let the doors of the A.R.O.C. open for him one he arrived. Eren slid to a halt through the chilled air, and computer coolant fans picked up in a fervored pace before he could say anything. Drawing a breath to speak, a deep scarlet light was cast upon him, making the air catch in his throat and a wave of fear snarl its way down his nerves.

“Eren.” An unnaturally even voice, that sounded as if it were on the cusp of breaking into raw fury, stated. The voice was pained, and just as mechanical as anywhere else on the arks, which did nothing to mitigate the teen’s concerned expression and tensed shoulders. The luminescence flashed to a blinding point before settling into a dull, broken flicker, announcing the presence of Armin’s avatar. The waist-up shirtless ambassador for Armin’s corporal form snarled at the very sight of him. “You shouldn’t have been able to get in here. I want you to leave. _Now_.”

“Armin. What the hell?” Being told to get out, just like A.R.M.I.N. said he would say inside that very room, was a slap to Eren’s face. The sneer actively twitching upon Armin’s expression was surreal, as if every aspect of his newly adopted attitude was being thrust upon Eren at once. “Why? Why do I have to leave?” He strained with shaking breaths. “This isn’t even about what you did to me or everyone else, so don’t even ask me to do anything for you.” Eren punctuated every word, holding back a tirade of raw emotions that he didn’t have the time to express.

“Because thanks to you…” Armin’s words were etched with a sting akin to slowly dragging one’s delicate flesh across pavement that blistered in the sun. “nobody will _ever_ get to see Axiom, now.” His expression contorted into unadulterated fury, yet him lips seemed to curl more into an increasingly acrimonious smirk with each word. Eren was too enraptured in that the other was even speaking to him so acrimoniously, that his words made no sense to Eren, but they still _hurt_. It was too late to fabricate a response to the words that had not properly sunk into his head before the sound of the door sliding open behind him made Eren spin around on his heels. However, to his confusion, the door was still shut. Eren looked back to the hologram just as quickly to find that Armin had turned away from him, looking at something he could not see with hunched shoulders and holographic skin that somehow still conveyed that it was positively bristling.

“Don’t make this any more difficult than it’s already going to be.” A disembodied voice announced. The teen just stood there as his blood ran cold, unable to do anything about the technician or his voice traveling over the mics on Ark Sina.

“I did what I had to in order to protect everyone!” Armin’s voice garbled as he screeched.

“We’ve reviewed the claims you’ve made through what’s _remained_ in your records, and we’ve determined them invalid. You’re apathy towards human life violates your prime directive, A.R.M.I.N..” The voice retorted, completely unaffected by what the hologram said, as if he were waiting for those exact excuses to be uttered.

“But-” Jaeger interjected half-heartedly in his conflicted feelings, but no one seemed to hear him.

“Don’t you _dare_ take another step closer to me!” Armin’s tone only continued to flood with panic.

“You’re in no position to stop me. You don’t even have any motor control over the single room you preside in.”

Footsteps could be heard.

“Do you have any idea what I’ve done? What I’ve done in service for nearly a thousand years?”

“You understood the power you were given and what would happen if you abused it.” More footsteps rung in Eren’s ears, along with a panel opening.

“Please, I didn’t act out of malice!” Despite the fact that it still seemed like a lie, Armin couldn’t hide the fact that he was scared. “I’ll die if you pull that lever, you know that, right? _I don’t want to die_.”

“If that was the case, you wouldn’t have acted out.” The voice was so cold that it stunned both Eren and Armin. Eren yelled at both of them with wracks of emotion to stop, but his words seemed to no longer carry over to the other ark. It was unfair; one of the few people Eren connected to was quite literally being disconnected for something Eren believed was not truly his doing. The hologram lurched as if it were trying to escape the projector that allowed its existence as the both of them heard a _click_ that slowed down time.

A deafening roar that was actually Armin’s enraged screaming flooded Eren’s senses before one final soft noise that was plastic hitting metal absorbed everything else like a blackhole. Both the A.R.O.C. and the A.S.O.C. went pitch black along with what used to be Armin’s vitals.

Before Eren could process anything or even drop to his knees, he woke with a start in bed, drenched in a cold sweat.

Panting in labored sets, Jaeger emitted a loud, panicked, and confused noise that echoed off of dark walls. Not being located in the A.R.O.C. gave him the highest feeling of consternation, and this caused him to look around frantically into the void long enough for his eyes to fully adjust to the lack of lighting. Several more seconds passed until he realized that he was dreaming that horrid scenario, which allowed him to slowly sit up in the foreign bed. It made sense, considering all the weird skips in scenery and his friend’s seemingly permanent stance on corruption, and… Wiping the slimy sheen off his temples, Eren gathered his wits, and assured himself that what he just witnessed did _not_ happen.

Armin hadn’t been seen or heard from since his… outburst. At least, he shouldn’t be heard from since he was so dangerous at the moment. The outburst took place because it had to do with some gene in inside him and its activation… Which Eren had figured by then that it had to do with the powers that he had used to stop the titans. That was not difficult to surmise. Two weeks passed where he and his friends, the politicians, and the military branches all formulated their opinions on his newfound abilities, all leading to a final decision which would be settled in a court case… which was today, and was why he was in a holding cell until seven that morning.

“What time is it?” Jaeger asked himself groggily into his mouth, and moved to check his watch, which had been confiscated yesterday evening. This did nothing to slow his already racing heart down in pace. Having no sense of time available to him, the measurement seemed to move slowly for Eren, which brought along confused thoughts that were dug up by his dream. Being in similar situations involving dreams before, a familiar and dull ache settled in his chest.

He wanted to know what conditions his friend was in, but in the two weeks that had passed, he hadn’t heard anything. Making an agitated noise from the back of his throat, Jaeger slipped back under the starchy covers with nothing to comfort him. It seemed that instead of getting information, these days, only more mysteries were piled upon him. These powers thrust upon him only made things worse… Running what he did know through his head, Eren only confused himself further, exacerbating his mood. Sleep never came to him; the room was too hot, he was too agitated, nothing was familiar to him, and worst of all, the lack of anything human in his surroundings made him somewhat lonely. The notion made Jaeger catch himself. His _feelings_ should be the last thing on his mind, considering his new abilities were so troublesome that people were beginning to fear him. He felt that he should be focusing all of his attention on finding answers, per usual.

This brought on a whole new onset of memories. Being slightly hesitant at first, Jean, Connie, and Sasha listened to his explanation as to what happened outside the hulls, raising concerns as to his stability, but they were convinced with a good hour’s coaxing that Eren was still the person they all knew. Mikasa seemed like she would trust him and treat him the same no matter what, and he was so grateful for it, given that she seemed to be the only consistent influence in his life. In addition, his captain had made a few vague, choice comments, but Levi had withdrawn from the main scene so much that he hadn’t seen him since… Perhaps after the court case, he could schedule an appointment with commander Erwin to check in with what was decided for him, and see what was bothering his Captain. The only other time he had seen the two were when they visited him last evening; they had come to tell him that they were unable to assist him in tomorrow’s hearing, and he would have to present his case all on his own, in hopes they would not dispose of him. _Hell, it was hard enough just getting one visitation_., Eren recalled Levi saying to him. Knocking him out of his train of thought, the door at the end of the hall glided open.

“Alright, time to get up! It’s oh-seven hundred hours, Jaeger.” The approaching Police Coordinate officer announced. As Eren got a better look at him, he observed the distinct difference between this officer and the vague image of the officer in his dream, and he sighed with relief. This one looked far more stiff looking, and was sweating with anxiousness.

“Yes, sir.” Eren stated with as little irritation in his voice as he could muster, seeing he had not gotten a good night’s rest.

“You have ten minutes to make yourself presentable.” The PC muttered with hostility. Eren nodded in response, and the other man left.

Soon enough, Eren was standing perfectly still until his cell door was opened, and he was motioned to make his way to the front of the poorly lit holding facility, where strange handcuffs were tightly bound to his wrists.

“These cuffs are programmed with the route you will be chauffeured to. If you try to run, they’ll taze you to the ground.” The warden of the facility paused. “They’re good for directing _monsters_ and high criminals alike.” He added acrimoniously with a blatant glare. As an awkward silence ensued, Eren felt bile rise to his throat, so he cleared it, and broached the _last_ subject that his mind should have had on it.

“So… The A.R.M.I.N. would be tracking me? I think he’s still shut off, right?” Eren inquired with hesitance bleeding into his words. This would be relieving to know if his programming hadn’t been fixed.

“Well, kinda, since he’s been iso- OW!” The officer yelped as the warden smacked him.

“Keep your mouth shut, and take him to the hearing room already! You’re going to be responsible for him being late if you don’t hurry.” He chastised. Instantly the situation Eren was in flooded his nerves, and A.R.M.I.N. was once again dumped from his conscience. Without any hesitation, The PC officer jabbed Eren in the back with the butt of his gun, regaining his harsh demeanor.

“Keep your mouth shut, and move along.”

Jaeger did just as he was told, all the way along the fifteen minute route to the front doors, where he was told to wait until the council was ready to see him. Not even daring to make any movement, his eyes swept around his general vicinity, where he spotted Hanji in the corner of his eye. Turning his head just so to properly look at her, she made eye contact with him to offer him a reassuring smile and a subtle thumbs up. However, just as a confused grin began to spread on his own face, Hanji’s expression melted into a dour and serious one, and jutted her chin quickly to bring his attention back to the door, sending a shiver down his spine. Just as he looked back in front of him, the doors swung open, his name was announced as if he were entering a coliseum where he would be shortly be mauled by a ferocious animal, and was directed inside with no sympathy.


	15. Polarization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conscious heavy with doubt weighs down Eren enough that it inhibits him from jumping over everyday hurdles. Now he has the choice whether to dump the extra baggage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in a bad depression when I wrote these next few chapters, so sorry if they're not up to par.

Chapter 15 DRAFT

The court hearing could have gone a tad more smoothly, but considering that he could have left the room a dead man assigned to execution, Eren felt that the experience was alright, especially since he had to find for himself. The group of bickering men that had towered above him had decided to plant an L-1 chip in between the dermis of his skin and the base of his medulla oblongata, which would be inserted the moment the group concluded the hearing. A moment later after he was released, he met Mikasa, who had been waiting for him, right outside the facility in a pedestrian hallway. She appeared just as fatigued looking as Eren, most likely because she was fraught with worry for her brother’s safety. Upon this realization, he clarified that everything was going to be fine, and what had happened during the hearing.

“Yeah… They’re gonna put some chip in me though. It’s like a tracking device or something.” He said, trying to recall incorrect information that was already becoming a blur, even if the committee explicitly told him that it had the ability to terminate him on the spot.

“It’s better than what they could have done.” She replied wearily. It was hard for Jaeger to think when so many issues were culminating in his mind. To his dismay, the A.R.M.I.N. issue insisted on creeping its way back into his conscious the moment he was out of danger. In a quick series of haphazard thought and a spacy pause in speaking, he determined that he should just go to the A.R.O.C. and see if it was unlocked, or at least find out if he had been turned off or not. The A.S.O.C. was undoubtedly closer, but he had no idea where it was.

“We should get a transport back to Ark Rose.” Eren suggested.

“I already talked to Levi; you won’t have to attend practice this afternoon.” She offered with a sympathy that was intent on being helpful.

“I feel fine…” He explained. Mikasa hadn’t assumed Eren’s reasons for wanting to leave completely incorrectly; even if he had just made plans, practicing to improve his skills was always a priority. In fact, he couldn’t really get _anything_ done on this ark.

“Alright…” Shifting uncomfortably, Mikasa waited until Eren began to move, where she followed suit until he rammed chest first, nearly knocking all three of them off their feet.

“Oh! Sorry about that.” Eren apologized with only half of his mind present.

“It’s alright.” The man offered, steadying himself.

“Are you okay?” Mikasa asked.

“Yeah.” He said. Mikasa subconsciously noted how much of a hurry the dark haired man was, and stepped to the side, allowing him room to pass.

“See? You’re still tired.” She chastised, giving her brother a small shove in annoyance. The pale man took this opportunity to make his way along without another word, queuing the siblings to move along as well. Looking once more behind her, Mikasa grimaced at what looked like the remains of rotting amphibian skin stuck to the bottom of the man’s boot.

Unfortunately before Eren could have done anything that he wanted to, he found another PC guard waiting for him upon his arrival on Ark Rose. Once the woman saw the two, she directed Mikasa to go to her afternoon training session, and for Eren to follow her. Without a moment’s rest, Eren was being guided back to practically the same dingy holding facility, except this was obviously on a different ark; there was a small but decently practiced medical bay that specialized in procedures relating to criminal punishment and parole adjacent to its location.

Upon arrival, Eren was asked to lie face down into a specially made table, where his head would be strapped in and he would be knocked out for the five minute operation. The room smelled of artificial lemon cleaners and, somehow, of the anxiety and fear of previous patrons, perhaps arriving there for their medically induced execution. With uneasy movements, Jaeger complied. Thankfully, the doctors did just as they said they would, and despite the apprehension caused by all the what-ifs, Eren woke ten minutes later, feeling exactly as he did when he got on the table. With a plastered on smile the doctor said he was free to do as he pleased now, but to stay out of trouble. Because he was so tired, Eren nodded, excused himself the doctor’s office, and made his way back home without any pit stops, where he slumped into bed and pulled the covers over him.

Breathing in the familiar scent of his own place of residence, he silently wished for a peaceful state of mind as he looked over at the clock on his bedside table. The holographic numbers flickered constantly in a lightning fast haze, which read a couple minutes past five in the afternoon, and the teen’s eyes unfocused at the sight until they blurred and were illegible. Soon enough we was wondering why he already felt so tired. In fact, in the two weeks that had past since A.R.M.I.N.’s outburst, everything moved lethargically with a terrible premonstration that he just couldn’t shake. It didn’t matter anyway, because he would be going to practice in about two hours, where he’d receive another short reprieve from thinking about everything too much. Without intending to, Eren’s fatigue overtook his body, and he fell into a dreamless sleep. Mikasa, with a gym bag slung over her shoulder, entered their place a half hour later, and spotted Eren through his open door. Slipping the duffle off of her shoulder and onto the couch, Mikasa quietly slipped into his room, adjusted his sheets so they didn’t cover his face, and set the lights above him to “nighttime”.

Sleeping through his evening practice, Eren woke the next morning blessed with one final good night’s rest before he was once again thrown into the fray. He stretched out, feeling a slight soreness in his eyes as he squeezed them shut. It was a Tuesday morning, and expectantly, Eren’s sister was at the gym, and he’d normally go to the A.R.O.C. It only took a split second more for Jaeger to remember that wasn’t in his _routine_ anymore, and he groaned aloud as the weight and confusion of his situation once again piled itself upon him.

Things were not okay. The knowledge that he had close to no knowledge, stuck in a rut, been near depressed for the last two weeks, and that there was a distinct possibility that he would never actually talk to Armin again made Eren’s gut twist.

Then what had happened countless times before when Eren got into a rut repeated once more. Color flushed itself into his tired complexion, his heart began to pump adrenaline, and his mind screamed reminders to him that it was a new day and a new chapter. If nothing had stopped Eren Jaeger from being a nosy little shit then, then what the hell was stopping him now? As he swung his legs over the edge of his mattress, nothing was and nothing could stop him. Eren knew there was very little he could investigate and go on, but there was in fact a potential light at the end of the tunnel. All he had to do was keep moving forward.

Throwing on his casual attire for the morning, he thought out how he should allot the time in his investigation, and by the time he had downed a provisions bar, he had decided that the A.R.O.C. was the only safe lead to check out. To Eren’s knowledge, the A.R.M.I.N. had been shut off thanks to his belligerent behavior, but when he thought about it, he surmised that it was likely the GOVCOM was slaving to restore him, seeing that he was an editable propaganda machine to them. Even if the A.R.M.I.N. had been shut off, he understood the risks of going into a place like the Operations Center. The last thing he wanted was to trigger more violent behavior of any kind, or potentially give him free reign over the arks again somehow, seeing that there was no knowing what repairs to A.R.M.I.N.’s secondary networks, filters, patches, or possibly isolation measures for thought processes had been made. Sighing, Eren’s mind drifted back to what that officer had said about what A.R.M.I.N.’s actual status was, but it was hard to remember since he was in a rush to get to his hearing, and he had been sleep deprived at the time. There was only one way to sort this all out, and the outcomes that didn’t involve disappointment were limited and unlikely.

Jaeger made an effort to not be overly excited or fill himself with a false hope as he made his way down to the A.R.O.C., yet his mind spun with all the possibilities and the pace of his footsteps consistently increased until he was practically jogging. God, he’d love to tell Armin how much he missed him. Slowing down once he reached the final turn before his destination hall, Eren began to hold his breath with excitement and concern for what he’d see. He slowed to a stop, letting the air that was moving around him continue to pass by over his skin, and looked around the corner. His heart sunk.

Standing there was a lone PC guard, clutching her phaser a little too tightly as she wrinkled her nose repeatedly, for the staleness that was found in the air in those parts of the ship could be quite irritating. Eren’s nerves began to pick up and they made him twitchy, despite there being no real danger yet. The anxiousness given from the notion of asking her what was happening with the A.I. made his breathing pick up once more. However, swelling with impatience, he swallowed down the scratchiness in his throat and turned the corner.

“Hold up.” The PC ordered before Eren could take two steps forward. Eren yielded without question, slowly stiffening as he stood there. “What are you doing around here?” She demanded, making Jaeger swallow again. He took in a breath and opened his mouth, but before he spoke, _“Keep out of trouble”_ ran through his head. If he were to just ask how the A.R.M.I.N. was doing, given that he was highly suspect as it was, she’d only ask him more questions. The last thing Eren needed was the government pinning him for trying to supposedly fry the A.R.M.I.N.’s programming. Then an investigation would be held, and they’d find records of him screaming about how he wanted to rip the bastard’s circuits out. The tribunal would show no mercy, based on how they treated his captain for merely disagreeing with it.

“O-Oh. I’m just passing through. I take walks down this way sometimes.” He said dejectedly. Grimacing, the PC shifted in her place. Eren noticed as much, and when he looked at the cuffs of her uniform, he understood why; she was a cadet, like him. A completely green cadet was guarding a potentially huge catalyst for problems.

“Well you’re going to have to find a different route. The computer has been isolated until further notice, and no one’s allowed in there so proper management can be maintained.” She explained without a second thought. After all, she was just blabbing what she had heard her uppers say in hushed tones. Eren just stared at her. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go in with her there… She’d get in much trouble as he would.

“I thought he was just shut off.” He said as casually as possible, internally screaming at the fact he just let “he” slip for the billionth time at this point.

“Nah. It’s just that the Committee’s taking _forever_ on deciding what to do with him. It’s not looking so good for any potential plan, I think.” She stated with boredom in her tone.

Eren’s gut dropped in his stomach. “That’s.. Disappointing. I’ll be going, then, I guess.” He started backing away, and muttered “Have a nice day”. Exhaling glumly, he quickly decided that he would check back the second it was open to the public and safe to enter once more. It made sense, really; there was just too much risk involved.

The days that passed slowly turned into a week, and no news regarding A.R.M.I.N. reached Eren. However, this wasn’t the only issue that bothered him. As the lack of information that was less threatening never came, the concerns over other uncertainties came to take their place. His curiosities over the potentially dark outcomes of his powers grabbed his mind more and more every day, pushing Armin further and further back. Reluctantly, Eren did this on purpose as well; he knew there was nothing he could do about his friend for the meantime, and thinking about it would only upset himself. By the time the week was nearly up, Eren hadn’t thought about his friend once… except while he slept.

It was horrible. Every night his mind would let him visit the A.R.O.C., where inexplicably his friend would be just fine. He’d be smiling so warmly, smothering Eren’s feelings with a dull but comforting warmth. They’d talk just as they normally did, and Eren remembered that he really did miss these days. He’d just be sitting there, listening to Armin talk, and Armin doing so made Eren feel as if he could start soaring from the appreciation he felt. The overwhelming desire to -somehow- just lean forward, and…

But by then either one of them would bring up current issues, and it would ground him once more. Even more often, what would happen was Eren would simply wake up.

Eyes snapping open every morning, Eren would only have the most fleeting sense of what his mind brewed up. He couldn’t remember that well, but the increasingly sharp pain in his heart of all things told him what it was, and it quickly became too much for his mind to carry. At this point, he had no idea if he would ever even speak to his best friend again, and that combined with his dreams were starting to feel like torture. Each morning Eren felt increasingly burdened by what his mind harried himself with, until he realized he needed to do something that was easier said than done… The opportunity to speak to Armin again seemed hopeless, so Eren decided to let go of Armin.

 


	16. Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While one harbinger is relieved from hell, a new one prepares to release it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter's notes apply to this one as well, sorry.

Chapter 16 DRAFT

A shadowy figure silently crept through darkened halls without suspicion from a single soul. Upon slipping through a door using his passcard, the man strode past many empty containment units before stopping in front of the only occupied one in the whole facility. There was a hanging silence in the air, as the one in captivity and the other with total free reign met each other’s eyes. As the captive younger woman asked if anyone could hear what they were about to discuss, the man with midnight black curls only smirked at her for asking such a stupid question.

“Humans are slaves to their systems; a desire for freedom made the changing of a single computer command unbelievably powerful.” He said in the most casual voice. After all, the very plans that she had been coerced into by the computer had been orchestrated by that very command. Breath hitching, she remembered how the man before her had so considerately failed to warn her that he had hijacked the A.I.. The two continued to plan out her escape as if it was going to well without a hitch; they both had confidence in him. In the end, most of what they said didn’t matter, for the shadow had other plans.

“Still… I always thought it made you the best.”

“Thank you. That means a lot, coming from you.” He said in a cloying tone, then trailed off. “I have the passcard.”

“How?” She asked with a spark of hope in her throat

“Don’t ask.” He snapped; it wasn’t to avoid telling a long story, it was an order.

“Escape pods?” Annie asked eagerly as her apathetic demeanor allowed.

“One deck above. Same as Ark Maria.” He shrugged.

Annie’s eyes trailed off, eyes wide as she thought. What the young man had said made many memories clang around her mind, one of the most forefront being the A.R.M.I.N. forcing her and her _real_ colleagues into doing the deed this time around. Sure, the computer had always been working against them, in the sense it was piecing together something was responsible for the attacks, then tried to figure out who was behind the Maria attack, but she had never expected it to corner them like that for the antithesis of it’s original purpose. In the end, it made sense that he had been the one to coerce them for being slow, not humanity’s guardian. The shadow took a step closer, making Annie jump from her train of thought.

“And you’re staying behind?” She inquired, keeping Bertholdt’s and Reiner’s best interest in mind.

“Yes. I need to make sure that you get out safely.” He offered with a glint in his eye. Still, there were more important things to get to than what was in front of him. “Where are Bertholdt and Reiner?”

Annie merely glared at him, but he shot her down with a look much more formidable, making her swallow. “Bert’s hiding in one of the spare rooms in deck 23. Reiner’s probably in a maintenance area.”

“Are their powers still functioning?” He pressed, laying a single hand upon the glass of her cage.

She answered several more questions without much a choice until her suspicions grew enough that she found the risks of asking the shadow a question worth while. “Hey, what’s with all the questions?”

The figure only smiled at her inquiry. “How can I protect the other two if I’m not up to date with their situation?”

She sneared at him for a second until she gave in once more. Annie, even if she would never admit it, was aware that he did know what he was doing. “...Okay.”

“How long did you go missing before the attack?” He pressed, seemingly one step closer to shedding the smiles and patient casualties.

“It must have been days. Maybe a week.”

“And the tracking log?” This was perhaps the most important inquiry of all, because they all knew if they hadn’t covered their tracks like they had planned on, the A.R.M.I.N. would hunt them down by using every single movement they made while it was under their control. The virus they used even patched the A.I.’s memories on the event, as if it were a cloudy residue that stuck. There would be no loose ends.

“Deleted, like we planned.” She affirmed.

“Good. Now let’s get you out of here.” He said suavely as he swiped his passcard out of his own billowing, plum jacket, entered the cell, and put the prized piece of plastic along with his hand back in his pocket. Once he scanned the perimeter of the cell one more time, A.R.M.I.N.’s and the entirety of humanity’s enemy gazed upon Annie with a conceided grin. She rushed out how they should hurry to avoid being spotted, right as the shadow, Kyros, sunk a knife into her abdomen.

A pained scream rang through the cold air, causing the lone young man in the room to slam his back against the wall in terror. Looking around frantically, he became became increasingly panicked as the sounds of winds and agonized sobs enveloped his ears.

“Armin?” Elias shouted, only to be greeted by more sobs. “Armin! Are you alright? What happened?” The boy inquired frantically. Armin, in his odd state of half submersion, unable to access his precious external data banks, struggled to remember what was happening or who was even speaking to him. He simply couldn’t get a grip while he was that shaken. Seeing that his words weren’t doing anything, Elias quickly assessed that he’d need to grab the other’s attention before he could proceed to calm his best friend down. _What had happened since he left last time?_ “Armin! It’s me, Elias! Just- calm down and talk to me! I’m right here, and I’m not leaving until you’re okay…” He tried to soothe as the tone of voice Armin used continued to make his chest constrict. Hearing Elias’ name managed to snap some of Armin’s personal recollections from the last time he had visited the A.S.O.C. back to life.

“Elias? Oh my god, Elias! Where am I?” Armin’s disembodied voice heaved, unable to rationalize the obvious by himself even in his unfiltered state of mind.

“You’ve been isolated to the Ark Sina Operation Chamber, remember?” He almost squeaked out, visibly upset by how Armin was acting?

“I-It was so _empty_ of anything!” Armin managed to choke out.

“Ar- Armin! Focus on the sound of my voice. What happened?” The boy attempted. The A.I. infused mind ground itself to the one clear anchor he had, and soon found more and more sensory input to focus on.

“I just- when you left, the lack of- of biosignature in the room automatically shut my conscious off, so the idle part of my mind had nothing to focus on, a-and I couldn’t rationalize why I didn’t have a body...” Armin shuddered. Pausing, Elias gave the other a second to collect himself while he pieced together the rest of the story based on what Armin was telling him.

“And… No one came to check on you or even knew that a weird psychological loopback would happen if they left you alone?” He asked, horrified, and muttered an additional “Morons”. Thankfully, the more material Elias provided for Armin’s mind, the more he calmed down, and realized that Elias shouldn't see him like this, making him all the more determined to get a grip. The other, understanding Armin wanted desperately to reach mental efficiency, compassionately waited for him to collect himself, humming a short tune to consistently assure he was still there.

“I’m… better now. Thank you. Also, sorry for acting with such poor conduct…” He added in sheepishly as an otherwise semi-cold demeanor would allow, the computer simulation occasionally throwing in hiccups ir sniffles to his voice.

“There’s no reason to be sorry! I wouldn’t have left you if I had known you’d...” He trailed off.

“You would have to have left eventually.” Armin added in quickly.

“Still, someone should think of your well being and at least check on you.” Castner insisted.

“That would have been appreciated… There shouldn’t be an issue once those filters I broke are fixed, since those things kept me from being self aware when I have no control over how I’ll react.”

“What do you mean?” Elias finally relieved the pressure off his back on the wall and stood up straight.

“Well…” Armin dragged the phrase along his processor’s tongue; there was something bitter about explaining these sorts of things, but he didn’t feel the need to elaborate on the feeling. “I’m not hooked up to both of the arks at the moment, so when I talk to someone here, I’m fine. But when no one’s here, my mind… submerges and puts itself through filters which are broken right now. The result isn’t good.” He said distantly. As much as he appreciated Elias’ presence, Armin really didn’t want to explain in full detail. It would have been nice to speak to Hanji, seeing that she wouldn’t even need an explanation. Even _Eren_ would understand enough-

The thought threw a wrench into his circuits, which was annoying even if Elias was silent as he mulled over what his friend told him. Oh no, was Eren alright? The last he knew of his whereabouts was that he had succeeded in activating the secondary symptoms of the gene, but after that, Armin had been isolated. Despite his normal high sense of priority on human life, and the special exception the situation had called for at the time, it still didn’t matter because he couldn’t remember anything except for the basic outline of what measures he had taken. These thoughts flooded Armin’s mind, and soon enough he was curious as to if how soon in the “game” Eren had become suspicious of him. Regrettably. He never _wanted_ to treat his best friend that way, but every time he looked back on it, he felt he had to, even if he loved him. Turning away from Elias for a brief moment, he dove back into the digital sea to search for the recordings of Eren’s activities since the strange blackout he had felt. He searched and searched, but the longer he stayed submerged, the more he felt panic set into his thoughts, and had to surface once more empty handed. He couldn’t access the records that were stored in the external drives of his system.

“Armin?” The boy interrupted.

“Yes?” He coughed lightly in return, voice crackling with some digital interference.

“Is there a way to make sure that you won’t go through that again? I have to leave soon since it’s family dinner night.”

“I’m not sure how I would do that. I would try to fix the filters myself, but I’m in no position to do that at the moment.” Armin stated reluctantly. Elias, not having a clue otherwise, stared at the ceiling in thought.

“I know that it means leaving you again, but I think I’m going to go see the Administrator about this.” He hadn’t spoken to Caleb since the freak out, but it was still worth a shot.

“You can just talk to the Administrator when you feel like it?” Armin’s tone was apprehensive of the hope that sparked to life inside himself.

“Yes and no… He put me on the authorization list to use his urgency contact.” He was already pulling out his mobile and began typing out an email stating the problem to the best of his ability, and that a technician should come as soon as possible.

“Thank you, Elias… This means a lot to me.” The other said slowly.

“It’s not a problem.” The boy muttered loudly with a smile on his face. “I’ll just wait here until someone arrives, which should be sooner than later. You can explain the problem in detail when they get here, okay?”

Swallowing at the act of kindness, the speakers made it sound like he gulped in a breath. “It’s already late, and you said you had dinner with your family tonight. I don’t want to keep you.”

“It’s alright Armin.” Elias shrugged. “They may work a demanding job in engineering, but the dinners are once a week. It won’t be the end of the world if I miss this one.”

“You’ve done enough already, but alright...” He whispered softly.

Besides Elias quickly catching Armin up on the few days it had been since he had been isolated -which were uneventful from his point of view-, the rest of the wait was spent in a peaceful silence while the two thought and day dreamed.

 


	17. Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three parties play a game, but only one has all the pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ew, a shorter than normal chapter. I don't know why I insisted on writing this back in June when I was /so/ down in the dumps, but I did it anyway.

Chapter 17 DRAFT

A common problem that people face when they hold unimaginable power is that seemingly everyone wants to use or manipulate them for their own agendas, and if there’s one game that involved advancing agendas, it’s politics. This was the ultimate truth that hung over a squabbling committee as they argued over what they should do to fix the A.R.M.I.N. system a few days later. Originally, they had gathered to discuss the meaning of Annie Leonhardt’s death, but other issues quickly upstaged it. Amongst some of these mortal men who aged, their seats of power warped and corrupted their sense of duty to carry out their decisions for humanity into what benefited them the most. However, the issue that was actively being discussed wasn’t how to fix the A.I., but the the adverse effects it’s absence caused. Specifically, the power sources for the entirety of the arks being thrown out of whack.

“The issue itself?” One clamored.

“It’s the conduit, remember?” Another shouted.

The only younger man in the room stood, his bright red hair another separating quality about him, and cut through the loud and confused din of the people around him. “Correct. We can only survive on fifteen days of reserve power to continue normal ship operations without A.R.M.I.N..” He said, flourished with a heavy swallow.

This only caused an even louder kerfuffle, making it apparent that despite their age, the group of men acted like a ton of five year olds. Causing Administrator Caleb to subconsciously flinch, Gaius stood suddenly.

“I can explain, Samuel. A.R.M.I.N. is a conduit. He’s connected directly to the ship's’ main power source, so his removal complicates the stability of our power systems.” He explained with a heated expertise. A.R.M.I.N. was always a top priority of Gaius’, given that his -and most of the GOVCOM’s- agenda was always dependent on it’s operation.

“What can we do?”

“We have two options:” Zachley chimed in with a solemn face. “Either restore his connection or find a replacement connection.”

Immediately the room erupted into an abundance of resistance to the idea, which Gaius greeted with a “Yes, yes. I understand this would be extremely problematic. But, as unlikely as it is that we’ll restore him, we need to discuss the implications of this action.”

“Even if we did have a replacement, there wouldn’t be enough time to make the transition.” Zachley countered. The process of removing the conduit was a tedious, dangerous, and lengthy one.

Acacius, who had been quietly standing near the back for quite some time, piped up with the observation that without power, the ship would stop moving. This would be consequently because they would force themselves to a halt; gliding through space without steering on momentum alone would be too dangerous; they couldn’t avoid any clusters of titans. However, there was a single flawed beam of hope still flickering in the distance within the ark’s engineering.

“There is a backup conduit system connected to the main energy core, but it’s output is limited to basic life support systems. However, there is a flaw in the system.” Gaius once again grabbed the room’s attention. “The backup conduit will only activate when the ship’s energy hits zero. For a twelve hour period between these two stages, both arks will be completely shut off.” He said solemnly, raining an anxious atmosphere down upon the committee. Without any systems and their populations, who knew how long their oxygen would last. Fumes could breach the air and strangle them all and they wouldn’t even know. Crime would go rampant with no way to enforce it except with brute force. Anarchy would surely arise, since it only took one soul to spark a roaring fire of lawlessness. They’d be doomed.

“We’re currently working on constructing a makeshift life support system for the gap, but besides that, everything else will be inoperable.” Zackley assured, taking the reins on getting some work done, and proceeded to assign Gaius and Caleb to finding a new host conduit, much to both’s dismay, and the remaining committee members to work on the life support system. At least the room’s members could recognize some form of hope now. With a terse nod, Gaius wished all the gentlemen luck on their tasks, effectively adjourning the meeting.

Alone in a dark room stood two telepaths and one madman, who were having a heated discussion in what was barely below a harsh whisper. Despite having a common goal, the madman and the other two disagreed on many basic principles. However, the shadow outranked them in command and willingness to get things done.

“I’m only here because of the mess you made. You should be thankful I’m not here just to kill you.” Kyros rubbed in, causing both Reiner’s and Berthold’s bodies to tense.

“I don’t like to be threatened.” Reiner spat.

“And I don’t like to kill useful assets. Now be a good boy and listen to the man with the knife.” The man practically sang.

“I will tear you apart for what you did to her!” Reiner growled, making Bertholdt jump. The tallest pressed that they should listen to Kyros, but his friend reminded him just as easily that the man in front of them could care less whether they lived or died. Sure, they had to trust the plan and their leader’s reasoning for sending the shadow, but it was disheartening knowing it was initially because they had failed their chance to make an attack on their own. Not only did Kyros appear to force them to act faster since they hadn’t, but they also failed to complete their mission even with expedited aid. Just when Reiner voiced his ease of mind over their leaders not knowing what they were dealing with, the madman quickly snuffed his hope.

“You’re wrong. I’ve informed them of every mistake you’ve made.”

“How can we trust you?”

“Trust me..?” The man chuckled darkly. “No. I want you to obey me.”

Just before Reiner could even consider clocking Kyros in the face, and subsequently get himself stabbed in the eye, a CPU announcement rang through the space, alerting the arks of a message to come any second. An intensity seemed to hang over the whole of the arks as the Administrator warned of the coming blackouts, and told the people to prepare to the best of their ability.

“Civilians and officers… I have the unfortunate news of announcing that the fleet will undergo a temporary blackout in three days. Preparations are being made in all departments; details will be forwarded to individuals within the hour. Thank you.” The voice echoed, then ceased.

Kyros, who had been listening with a keen intent, turned his head back to the two with a smirk that could make someone queasy. “Honestly, the humans make things too easy.” He twisted around the rest of his body sharply with a death ridden glare on his face. In an instant, it became all too apparent that nothing concerning the remaining teenage telepaths would be autonomous anymore. “The plan’s been changed. From now on you’ll do exactly as I say.” Excitement filling his being, Kyros’ eyes widened. “Even if I’m not there to personally slaughter you like Annie, don’t forget: _I am always watching_. I am the only one who knows.”

Bertholdt and Reiner swallowed with unease.

Sitting alone in his room with his feet swung over the edge of the mattress, Eren took a deep breath in an effort to calm his prickling nerves. He recalled how Commander Erwin picked him of all people, and his stomach turned a little; he was chosen despite the lack of confidence people had in him, including himself. Eren wasn’t even sure what he was. He couldn’t tell if the gene made him so different that he couldn’t be called a human anymore, despite every fiber of his being telling him that he was, for his goals were some of the host human things he could think of. Jaeger rubbed his eyes slowly with his index finger and thumb, and noticed how callous his digits were becoming thanks to the 3DMG use. The desire for freedom and knowledge wasn’t something titans had, but humans did. Reminding himself of something he was trying to forget, the thought brought bile up to Jaeger’s throat. It surely wasn’t him, but the fact that the A.R.M.I.N. wanted to use Eren like that only confused him further. His tendency to overthink and thus internalize over-complications manifested itself until Eren was left confused and unable to know what to believe anymore. His whole situation was unstable, and frankly he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

Was he even a leader? There were certainly people better for the job than him in his current state, like Marco and Jean… Eren wondered what exactly the Commander was trying to prove, and couldn’t think of a single thing that didn’t have to do with his powers, or how Jean told him the A.R.M.I.N. pestered him about his own opinion on his leadership abilities. That didn’t foreshadow any good news. Looking at the walls with determination, he made another silent oath to still try his best; he faced down the titans, so these stupid ship problems surely wouldn’t be an issue for him…. Yet… He couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t right. If he couldn’t even control his own powers, how was he supposed to protect everyone? Looking over to stare at his clock, Jaeger saw how late it was, and flopped onto his bed fully, trying once again to fall back asleep. After all, there was a big day tomorrow dedicated to preparing for the blackout, which would be starting in about thirty-nine hours.

To the best of his ability, he tried not to let Armin cross his mind, but the very effort not to only made him think about it more. It was hard to find mental solace without trailing to the largest source of comfort Eren once had. Oh no, the blackout wouldn’t hurt him, would it? He had to make sure that he was going to be okay, he had to protect him-

Those thoughts were dangerous, and Eren regretted even conceiving the notion. With a strained facial expression, Eren decided that he would drop the subject, and just ask Captain Levi about the systems in general and their preparations. Surely the engineers would be competent enough to handle anything that would be thrown at him. The idea was just enough to let Eren fall asleep.


	18. Set

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren prepares for and settles into his first position of responsibility.

Chapter 18 DRAFT

Despite the strung nerves and anticipation they all had for the next day, the preparations for the backout went smoothly, and completed just in time for Eren and his new “squad” to reach their post before the outage. Standing at their post outside of one of the engineering departments, Eren quietly recalled what had happened the last few hours. First of all, at least there was some relief when it came to Armin’s safety for the meantime. He had asked his captain about the blackout and how it would effect the computer, and besides the fact he got some weird looks and was told that he was nosy, he was informed that the A.R.M.I.N. system would be covered by the emergency life support systems. After finishing prep, he had gone to bed, then checked back in for final minute prepping, then went back to his room. He had gotten up from a specially allotted nap break in order to get enough rest for the focus that would be required for dealing with the list of potential catastrophes. There was a partial, almost hollow feeling of satisfaction from not being able to remember any possible dreams he could have had during his sleep. Then Eren reported to his allocated doc bay to do a final final check for their supplies -as required by Levi-, review their assignment, and meet up with his peers.

Snapping out of his recollection a moment later, Eren fidgeted slightly with the knowledge the the dead stop was even closer, and his nerves will _still_ fresh thanks to not having the chance to settle into his post yet. This was one of those times he had to be ready for anything, so his focus needed to be superb. If anything went wrong, perhaps if he had a grip over his emotions, he’d be able to use his powers without a hitch before anyone had the chance to get hurt. He’d need to be as stoic as Mikasa or Levi. _"I just need to keep control over my emotions…"_ Eren repeated in his head until an odd and almost lethargic feeling of apathy washed over himself. Jaeger, who hadn’t tried this method before out of no need to or thinking of it before, wondered if he could make it through the darkness like this. But just as he fell into his false calm, a familiar tune wafted it’s way down from the floor above them. It was being sung by the masses in the distance. He recognized it instantly, and he felt a lurch in his stomach. Why did he have to go and make associations automatically like that? Despite his conscious telling him not to, that recognizing its presence would only hurt, Jaeger listened more intently, realizing he missed the first few beginning lines of the words.  

_If you look in the night, there’s a light shining bright._

_Your hopes and mine, guide us both through the night._

Despite his previous resentment towards the melody, the words he heard were slightly comforting, in some melancholy way. Slowly, Eren began to sing along under his breath, barely audible.

_We can succeed! Don’t lose sight of our goal!_

_Though we may worry, we won’t let it take toll!_

_As long as I’ve got you, I’ll be okay._

_And if we keep onward, we’ll be okay._

Just before the climax of the melody could hit and perhaps finish off the public’s fears, the ark heaved with an enormous shudder, and everything slowed to a wretched stop. There was not a single light nor sound except for the people’s collective labored breathing for a moment before, finally, the emergency life support systems kicked in. The dull brown emergency lighting flickered continuously and offered little to no solace for anyone on the arks, but soon enough their eyes adjusted to the meager lighting. The interruption was almost a relief for Eren; it was a distraction from how much his insides hurt with a voracious and acute loneliness, almost strong enough to divert his attention from even noticing the surge of electrical power. But as he gathered his wits and realized what was happening, Eren came to the simple and utilitarian conclusion that he simply could not allow himself to pity himself for not having someone to cling to anymore. Especially with so many certainly feeling the same way as him, and the public being in a state of peril. Silently, he thanked whatever was out there for allowing him to keep a straight face as Mikasa looked over in his direction with a tiny, comforting smile. At least she was there. What Eren failed to realize, was how wet his eyes were.

Eren, who was determined to stay focused through the whole twelve hours, made sure to keep his chatter with his peers and any daydreaming to a minimum. This silence that came from Eren deterred most everyone from interacting with him, so they talked amongst themselves instead. Sasha and Connie playfully argued in harsh whispers over whether she could hack into the P.A. system and play _The Chicken Dance_ once the power went back on to one side of the room. Mikasa, Jean, and Marco were standing near the door to the entrance corridor, leaning against the wall as heavily as they could, since they couldn’t sit on the floor. The next time Eren looked over at them a few moments later, nothing changed about their position, except Mikasa was gently napping on Jean’s shoulder, and Marco and Jean had their heads turned to look at each other and speak about things too quietly for Eren to hear. However just before Jaeger could take his focus elsewhere, Jean turned to give him a nasty look, which only inflamed once he registered Eren was watching them. Huffing and looking elsewhere, Eren swore under his breath about how Jean was even more intolerable towards him than normal the past three days or so. Time was moving so slowly for everyone, but at least nothing had gone wrong so far in the four hours that had passed.

Meanwhile, a shadow walked with confidence through corridors amongst flickering lights. His chest was held high as he carried himself, and his coat billowed behind him, radiating the intention of getting business done. Despite the power outage making his intentions easier to complete, the fact that he had just passed a security barrier with a mere fake ID made a scowl surface upon his complexion.

“Disgusting. The humans make this too easy. And to think I’d have to try to get harder into the engine room.” Kyros spat with scorn. Realistically, Kyros knew it was best this way, but when he executed his plans, he had the confidence that he could take a route that would be more challenging, and would force humans to recognize that it was him who had brought their suffering. It was less _boring_ that way. “A single ID and I can make it down here.” The narcissist announced as he opened an old chain-link security gate that gave access to an engine labeled “ALPHA-2”. “It’s almost as if they’ve invited me by name.” Chuckling to himself, he walked up to the engine, and ran a hand over it’s just luke-warm and still, unmoving surface that lacked the vibrations it would normally have while running. ALPHA-2 was enormous; it’s corpulent mail hull was large enough to let a hundred people hide inside if it were hollowed out, and was accompanied by five quintuplet core electromagnetic turbines. Kyros’ frail mind allowed him to mutter aloud the steps he would take next, until out of nowhere a blonde woman in her thirties opened up the gate behind him to stride up to where he stood. Her ID badge wrote _“Elizabeth Castner”_.

“Hey! Just what do you think you’re doing?” Her tired face scowled at him with a lack of trust during the uneasy times.

The shadow did not allow himself to flinch, and turned around, weightless and natural. “Oh, me? Just fixing a few things.” He said casually.

“Wait…” She commanded uneasily. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“That’s because I’m new here.” Kyros explained with a toothy smile.

Elizabeth’s blood ran cold; something wasn’t right. She gulped a breath, before shouting “You’re not supposed to be here! Intruder!” while looking defiantly right into his eyes. “Someone, we have a break in the barrier!” A playful look spread on Kyros’ face, as if she had just challenged him to a game. Just before she could take another breath, he slipped the only thing he could trust in his world out of his coat pocket, and sunk it ferverously into her abdomen.

“Looks like you caught me.” The shadow said coolly as she doubled over onto her knees.

“What..?” Elizabeth whispered shakily, then looked down to her hand, which pulled away to reveal bright scarlet dripping from her palm. Kyros, without a second thought, decided to deliver a quick swipe of cold steel to the back of her exposed neck, making her drop to the ground, lifeless, on the spot. Just before Kyros could even look up to get back to business, he heard the gate opening once again with rushed footsteps following it. Snapping his eyes and body upward, he saw a scraggly, lanky man with broad shoulders the same age as the woman at his feet stop in his tracks when he saw his -wife, apparently, since the last names on the badge matched his surname of _“Jacob”_ ,  and a wedding band glint dully on his finger- wife dead on the floor with blood pooling around her. In the next instant, a raw fury consumed him.

“Elizabeth!” He roared, and every muscle in his body went tense. Kyros rolled his eyes in response.

“Tch. You just can’t stay away, can you?” He spat, causing Jacob to bare his teeth.

“What did you do?” He growled, before his body unlocked itself, and he barreled forwards towards the murderer with heavy footsteps.

Kyros, who had seen this coming the second Jacob entered the room with testosterone fueled body language, dodged the barely calculated arc of Jacob’s punch with ease. Eyes flickering wildly, the shadow saw he had let his knife slip out of his hand and onto the floor when he had entered the room, so he was weaponless, and snarled. With lightning quick moves peppered by annoyance and impatience, he delivered blow after blow to Jacob’s chest and gut, but he refused to drop. The struggle was wordless, until Jacob managed to wrap an arm around Kyros’ neck, squeezing breathless noises out of him. Instincts kicked in, so Kyros’ fist to the man’s face were powerful enough to force him to let go and stubble backwards. Taking full advantage of this window of opportunity, the shadow lunged forward to scoop his weapon off the floor, in the nick of time to turn around to find Jacob flying to tackle him. It was easy for him to sink his knife into Jacob’s stomach, but once he too doubled over like his wife, it was even easier for him to stab him several more times in the back, near his shoulders, out of spite. Once this caused Jacob to throw his back in the opposite direction, a final broad and deep slash across his stomach and chest was enough to suffice, making Jacob fall to the floor before vomiting blood.

“Where was I? Ah yes.” Kyros wondered aloud as he stood up, wiped a streak of hot and sticky blood off his face, and brushed himself off. As he approached the consol hub that was situated as a panel in the floor right by the base of the engine, the man collected his thoughts. As much as he enjoyed that encounter, he wished it would have been at a more opportune time, seeing that people could have heard the struggle, and come down here before he was ready to deal with them. Nonetheless, Kyros made quick work out of undoing the screws that held down the panel with his blade, then removed it, revealing a mass of hundreds of wires, buttons, ports, displays, and secondary command nodules. Smiling beaming bright with a lust for anarchy, he once again pulled a flashdrive out of his pocket. Humanity’s technology was primitive compared to his, so writing up destructive code was a breeze to him. He shoved the stick into a beta-port with triumph, and with a single “yes” confirmation, the nodule downloaded it’s contents. Second’s later, sparks sprang to life from a still hot motherboard until a small fire started, which Kyros put out with his boot. That ensured some quick and adoit handy work wouldn’t fix the problem. It also made sure that when the blackout ended, the engine wouldn’t be the only thing to short circuit. To Kyros, it was perfect. Yet at the same time to him, knocking out the life systems in one fell swoop was a bit too easy, but it did do what those inexperienced teenagers failed to complete.

Next, he hurriedly pulled out wire cutters, and sheared everything in sight voraciously until they were fragments of ribbons, but still was careful enough to not get himself electrocuted. Admiring his handy work, he deemed it enough to be fatal to the humans, placed the panel back in its spot, put the screws back in, and he took a step back. It looked like no one had even touched it. Seeing Mr. Castner finally just as lifeless as his life, bathing in a pool of his own blood, Kyros decided that there wasn’t any need to attempt to clean the bodies. Besides, there was work to be done elsewhere. With an air of confidence, the man slipped back back into the cracks of the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got out of that funk around this point when I was writing! Woohoo! I can personally tell because the descriptions and actions are more detailed. I had fun DESCRIBING Kyros on his rampages. Should I put this down as "graphic depictions of violence"?  
> Also, The Sky's Tears is a curse to all of humanity, and should not be allowed, for it'll get into the wrong hands. Specifically, me.


	19. Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren faces the consequences of his choices.

Chapter 19 DRAFT

“Take a seat, Jaeger.” A cold, bored voice commanded before flipping a small switch and filling the room with more adequate lighting. The room was stark of any comforting or cozy furniture, and the only thing in the room was a faded seafoam-green PVC desk and two matching seats on either side of it, a tablet computer, and a spare phaser gun lying on the desk. Moving with an anxious stiffness, Eren did as he was told and sat down, exhaling as quietly as he could in preparation for his inquiry. He dared not touch the gun, and the Police Coordinate officer moved it off of his desk into a drawer with a sheepish cough of his own.

The reason Eren wasn’t in front of a judge with a trial open to the public and strict red tape that wouldn’t work in his favor was because he was a minor. This was merely a preliminary interview to see if Eren had broken regulation at all, seeing that he was a major component in a major accident that had only happened two days ago, which Eren _really_ didn’t even want to acknowledge happened, like it was a bad dream. Yet he was still there, giving the necessary account of what happened, whether he committed a potential crime or not during the blackout. The man, who was named Michael according to his badge, sat down in his seat across from him and tapped his tablet several times to set it to the application that scribed everything that would be said.

“State your name.” Michael commanded.

“Eren Jaeger.”

“Cadet Jaeger, do you understand this is a formal recording thanks to the computer surveillance being down, and you must tell the absolute truth, which is accountable by the law? Do you swear to omit nothing from any question I ask?”

Eren’s breath caught in his throat, even if he honestly had nothing to hide, and after a short pause he finally spoke. “Yes.”

“Are you ready to begin? The incident only happened two days ago, so you should remember everything.” He asked callously.

Terrible images instantaneously gripped Eren’s mind, making his stomach clench tightly and his palms sweaty. Guilt swept through his very core as he _forced_ the bile rising in his throat back down to where it belonged. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He gasped with reluctance. Telling himself to just breathe, Eren took a final second to compose himself. “It all started six hours into the blackout when some PCs called a code black, you know, them finding the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Castner a whole _two hours_ after they were slaughtered like animals. We did the appropriate thing, and entered the engine room. It was right down the hall from where we were stationed.” Eren strained, digging his nails into his palms.

“Hold up. You said you were stationed right outside the entrance to the engine room? Didn’t you allow the perpetrator to pass through then?” Michael demanded.

“No… There are three separate entrances to that large room. It’s believed the perp used a staff entrance. We were stationed outside the tunnel that allowed larger parts to be moved in and out.”

With a doubtful look, the older man pulled up schematics for the deck that the engines were on, then gave Jaeger a curt nod, dismissing his suspicions. “Okay.”

“Then almost immediately afterwards the Engineering Corp. found out that the engines had been sabotaged by someone as the PC investigated the bodies. They said that the entire system would short circuit because the engine was newly configured in a way that would make the engine internally blow in on itself.” Eren stopped for a fraction of a second only corral his thoughts away from how worried he was for Armin’s systems, and how guilty he was for thinking of that first instead of everyone else, and how that still bothered him despite everything else that happened. He shook his head. It was stupid to worry about, really; the A.R.M.I.N. being isolated may have caused the blackout, but there was no way to tell if the short circuit on Ark Rose would have affected Ark Sina. “It took them an hour to figure out that there wasn’t a way to fix the engine through traditional means, seeing that the backup panel had been shredded by the perpetrator. So around eight hours in they set off to find some other means to save the ship. After another hour of waiting around while they dug and searched for answers passed until they found one.” Eren’s fists tightened until the skin on his palms threatened to split like rice paper thanks to his nails digging in even harder.

“Go on.” The other man urged, then looked at his watch.

“Finally a guy ran up to us with bundles of schematics in his hands, and quickly spread one of them out on a work table. It was a blueprint of a certain part of the engine. He said there was another pathway, but… someone had to go _into_ the engine to fix it. There was so little time left that if they did fix the engine, they wouldn’t have time to escape back out before the blackout ended at twelve hours, and would have been _crushed_ by the pistons. It was a suicide mission.” Eren choked out, then internally begged his stomach to ease up with the queasyness, and stared into his lap.

“How come one of the engineers didn’t volunteer to go? It’s there division!” Jean suddenly demanded with clear irritation over the matter. The voice caused Eren to throw his head back up to look at Jean, even though he hadn’t seen his come into the room, and saw Michael was the only one there. He realized he was imagining things with a pained wheeze.

“I- I’m not sure, but they all looked at me, like it was the solders’ jobs. Besides, before anyone could think to ask, Marco Bodt volunteered to go in.” He explained.

“Other reports have indicated there was a lot of… strife after Marco volunteered. Is that correct?”

Automatically jumping back into the past, Eren’s mind replayed all the near hysterical interactions he had with Jean. Jean begged him not to send Marco in. He pleaded, but the present gave away the cruel reality that all his tears and begging was worthless in the end. “... Yes.”

“But you sent him anyway?” Michael asked, more gently than before.

“Yeah…”

“What was your thought process and reasoning. I need as much detail as possible.”

“It’s just that Marco seemed like he was so sure of what he was doing, despite everyone’s general panic, and that it was pretty clear I didn’t want to send anyone in. Marco assured that he needed to do this, because like I pointed out, the whole ark would die if someone didn’t.” Eren almost whispered as he picked at his fingernails. It felt as if the weight of a planet was pressing upon his shoulders.

“And your thought process on sending a fellow peer to their death? What made it _okay_ to do so in your mind?” Michael perched his head upon the palm of his hand again.

Eren cringed. “Honestly, what the A.R.M.I.N. said to me during my placement test came to mind.” Eren’s breath caught in his throat when Michael looked at him strangely, and he chastised himself for being so sensitive over seemingly everything having to do with Armin. “I mean- He asked me at the time if I would send a peer to death if there was a problem in engineering. It was eery during the incident… But I couldn’t answer him, so he asked me what I would do if they volunteered, and I said ‘I guess so’. That and a lot of other questions landed me in the Galactic Corp., and subsequently my position of leadership two days ago.” He elaborated. “But I don’t know why A.R.M.I.N. came to mind, initially.” Eren quickly added in, cringing even more to the point it looked like he would start grinding his teeth.

“Alright. Thank you for clarifying that last bit. I was going to question why you would use a dangerous artificial A.I.’s opinion, but it turned out to be your own, in a way.”

Eren could only nod, unaware of the look of shame in his eyes.

“Very well. I suppose that will suffice. I’m sure you don’t want me to ask you to recall it in any more detail.” Michael said with an odd flourish of his chin.

“Thank you…” Eren said in monotone. _Keep strong, keep going, keep strong, keep going. Don’t break. Not now._ He repeated over and over in his head. Soon he would be out of the office and away from everyone. He didn’t want to talk about it again for a very long time, yet that probably wouldn’t be the case.

“No, thank you.” Michael corrected with a tone that was a little too close to being condescending. “You’re free to go. Dismissed.”

Eren immediately stood in such a hurry that he forgot to separate the nod from his action, but instead did both at once, turned around, and walked stiffly out the door without another word spoken. Hunching his back and gritting his teeth, Jaeger made his way down the hallway in absolute silence except for his increasingly labored breathing. He was so thankful that the halls were seemingly empty.

If such a kind person like Marco dying wasn’t enough, Jean’s reactions -when it was really sinking into his head that his best friend was going to die over the walkie-talkie- drilled into Eren’s mind. Jean, who wasn’t a person to spill his soul with emotion, was almost instantaneously brought to tears. “And to think…  We’d be standing side by side when we got to Axiom… I don’t want to live without you.” Seemed to echo all around in Jean’s voice. The two had been amazingly close all their lives, so close that when Eren looked at the two when had nothing else to think about, he realized he had never had something like that, and he wanted that. Someone to talk to about anything, share secrets and dreams with, and feel comfortable around like Jean and Marco could. Back then, the burden of not having one real friend was so obtrusive in the front of his mind sometimes that it felt like the weight of a whole solar system was pressing on him. That was until he met Armin, anyway.

Oh. The parallel smacked Eren straight across his face. He _did_ have a friendship that strong, someone who understood him more anyone else. Eren’s stomach clenched with the realization that trying to get Armin out of his mind had let him lose his appreciation for that, especially with the ever-present possibility of him dying as well. Wetness pricking hotly at the corners of his eyes, Eren’s face further contorted as his feet seemed to pick up in pace on their own. _God, he wouldn’t even have a say in the matter. He wouldn’t even get a funeral,_ Eren’s conscious chimed. Jean’s twisted mouth as he choked back heavier sobs seared in his brain. Jean had instantly become bitter by Marco sacrificing himself, and every time he looked in Eren’s direction, he always wore a hurt and angry scowl. The situation Jean found himself in was not one Eren wanted to live as well. This only wracked Eren with another tsunami of guilt, seeing that he was the one to let Marco go. Yet he had no choice! If he was still captain of the situation, and his own best friend had been there at his side… Jeez, knowing Armin, he would have volunteered to go as well, and Eren would have to choose to send either Marco or Armin to their death. His mind didn’t want to admit it, but his subconscious already knew what the answer was. Since that thought felt like a stab in the gut, Eren snapped his head back upwards to actually pay attention to where he was going, and he found himself turning the corner the hallway that had the A.R.O.C. on it.

“Really?” Jaeger muttered aloud with disdain, internally cursing the fact that in times of trouble, he always seemed to end up here. However, what made Eren choke on his breath was the severe lack of any guards in the vicinity. It had only been a little over two weeks since he was isolated, so it didn’t make sense for the post to be abandoned from lack of observation. That would mean that the A.R.M.I.N. was at least open to the public again, right? Already getting ahead of himself, Jaeger began to run towards the door and think of all the things he could finally say to him, like how happy he made him and how _thankful_ he was for that and how much he _missed_ him. He could tell him how confused and conflicted he was without him and his advice. Maybe things could finally start looking up again. He could honestly feel _happy_ again. Not caring how stupid he looked even if no one was there, more tears started to spring from the wells of his eyes like dew at the idea of speaking to Armin again. Now that he had the chance, Eren would tell him _everything_. Reaching his arms out in front of him to clear the door, his hands bumped right into the ice cold metal.

His false hope, as delicate and fragile as eggshells, shattered into a million pieces. How could he have been so desperate to look away from the obvious? It still didn’t stop Eren from feeling raw disappointment settle in his gut like spoiled food. Not having anywhere to go or anyone he wanted to talk to about all the _horrid_ things he had been through -the things that were relevant and mattered and weren’t about his own petty issues-, Eren let himself slump to the ground and curled up at the base of the door, trying to make himself smaller. He had started to run out of the will to pick himself up, dust himself off, and tell himself that being upset wasn’t worth his time, that he should get over it. Today, Eren wasn’t above crying. Eren wouldn’t be above crying for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> c:::::::::


	20. Replacement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias is hell bent on making sure Armin's okay.

Chapter 20 DRAFT

Sitting alone at his desk in his august office, Caleb Alias fretted over the enormous queue of work files that had just arrived onto his computer in addition to his ever growing workload. However, it was not the volume of his work that stressed him out, it was that he took the time to do it in full detail, just for it to be ignored by his peers, that is, the GOVCOM Committee. In fact, most of the things he sent over were never opened, save for the documents and bills that he e-signed and put into commission. The Administrator, whose ginger hair line was already starting to barely recede despite him only being twenty four years old, huffed out an annoyed sigh when he went over the titles of the documents. At this point, it had been a little over two days since the blackout, and two weeks since A.R.M.I.N.’s freakout, and there still wasn’t a single document pertaining to the A.I.’s problematic conditions. All of them had to do with health care and redistributing wealth from those who earned it to the bureaucracy's paychecks, which in reality was slowly becoming an oligarchy. With a heavy sigh, Administrator Caleb ran a hand through his hair, mentally pushed up his sleeves, and settled down into his work. Just when he got comfortable with a document on energy usage and surges after the power went back up, his intercom suddenly buzzed, and a loud and impatient knocking -more like banging- rang out on the door, startling Caleb right out of his seat until he was standing up straight.

“ARG! H- Hello? Who is it?” Caleb demanded impatiently thanks to how startled he was.

“It’s Elias. May I please come in?” Somehow he managed to sound like he was on official business.

“Oh,” Caleb breathed heavily once or twice to calm himself down. “Yes, you may!” He called out with exasperation towards the door instead of using the intercom, then pressed a small black button on the corner of his desk, causing the doors to sweep open. Elias walked smoothly inside, but did not move for long, instead hovering right by the door as if he’d be leaving again soon. The hurried look he gave Caleb prompted the Administrator to speak. “I’m assuming you’re here to get-”

“Permission to visit the Ark Rose Operations Chamber again. Yeah.” Elias interrupted without a second thought. Caleb puffed his cheeks out in annoyance.

“ _Elias_. I know you get along with Armin, and he seems to like your presence, but you come all the way over to my office in person to ask me that question _every day_ when I have business on Ark Rose.” He explained as he slowly sat back down into his seat.

“I suppose that’s true, sir. I just want to check up on him when I can, since no one else seems to take the time to.” Elias’ mouth twisted with a bright expectancy in his eyes.

“That may be true… B- But I am _elbows deep_ in work all day, so I can’t just have you show up unannounced! How am I supposed to make time to address A.R.M.I.N.’s isolation if I’m distracted!” He gesticulated tensely with his elbows on the desk. “I’m sorry, but you can’t keep coming here so often…” Then he moved to rub his temples with his thumbs, squinting his eyes shut. As per usual, Caleb could feel a migraine coming on soon.

Elias just stood there awkwardly like a giraffe, unsure what to since he didn’t expect the Administrator to blow up at him like that. “I’m sorry, sir… If I could get get one more written pass from you for the day, I’d be going, and I wouldn’t bother you again.” Elias’ tone and features visibly sunk. He didn’t want to stop visiting after today, but the Administrator did make a good point. It would be best in everyone’s interests if he stopped visiting for now.

Looking up once more, Caleb saw how visibly upset Elias was, and being a total softie when it came to empathy, took pity on him, then sighed. “Give me your I.D. card.” Caleb instructed and reached his arm out to motion the boy over. Eyes widening, Elias approached the other man with poorly concealed hesitance, and did what he was told by reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out his I.D. badge, containing all his personal information along with an electromagnetic strip that acted as a customizable gateway to certain areas in the arks, and handing it to the Administrator. Without saying a single word, Caleb pulled out a small device that had a large port opening connected to a USB cable, and gently snatched the I.D. card from Elias’ fingers, stuck it into the port, and plugged the USB into his computer. Elias watched the Administrator type amazingly fast with adroit fingers -presumably because he was in a hurry- and purse his lips silently, worrying if he was striping him of his access. Thinking ahead, Elias realized the possibility of the next time a guard stopped him before he could go into the A.R.O.C. or swipe his card at the door, he’d be denied entrance. He held his breath at the mere thought. Armin was his only friend, despite his sister. Since he had gotten sucked into his own thoughts, the loud “DING!” Caleb’s computer made startled him heavily. This made Caleb chuckle under his breath.

“Sir?” Elias inquired.

“I thought about it, and you seem trustworthy enough. I’ve added you to the roster of people who’s allowed unrestrained access to the Ark Rose or Ark Sina Operations Chamber. Just remember.. this is a privilege, not a right. It’s a risky move for me to allow this, given the circumstances.” Caleb explained sternly as he unplugged everything back to the way it was originally, and gave Elias his card back. The boy only stared at it for a split second, then positively _beamed_ at the man.

“Thank you, Administrator! I promise I won’t do anything I already haven’t!” He practically giggled.

“I know there’s no reason for me to say this, but just because your card gives you access, doesn’t mean you can bring ‘guests’ along! Who Armin remembers in his current state is a tricky thing to deal with, and occasionally causes problems.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” Elias assured with a small smile on his face. Caleb only glanced at him expectantly.

“Good. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.” Caleb tried to shoo the teen out of his office as politely as possible. Elias instantly got the picture, but besides, he had better things to do at the moment.

“Yes Sir! Thank you Sir!” He spun around on one of his heals and instantly started heading for the door. “Have a good day!” He called out behind him, leaving Caleb alone once again in his office.

The young man, once again alone in peace and quiet, sighed to himself and thought about what he had just done. It was risky, but for the meantime, Caleb believed the pros outweighed the cons. He just hoped he was right.

 

A short while later, while making his way down empty halls hissing with steam, Elias noticed there was an obvious spring in his step. He didn’t think he’d get so excited over doing something as normal as visiting his friend. It must have been the threat of not doing it again for a while. The very thought of not getting to talk to someone who understood him so much made him glum and feel a little icy in his veins. It was a miracle really; Elias thought about it as he walked, and didn’t know what his life would be like if he hadn’t started talking to Armin. A life where only his coworker _Dev_ was willing to talk to him was not one he wanted to imagine. Sure, Armin wasn’t _quite_ the same since he started talking to him inside the A.R.O.C. or A.S.O.C., but the difference was tolerable. Besides, he was sure Armin would be back to normal once he was hooked back up to the rest of the ships. Once again distracting him from his thought, a sudden noise made Elias pay attention to his surroundings again. Looking around, he realized he was only a few corridors away from his destination. It was strange; guards usually weren’t that far away from their posts.

“Perhaps they’re just changing shifts.” Elias muttered to himself. Listening more closely, the sound was made again, and he realized the sound was a person’s hiccups. This made Elias scowl. The Police seemed to smuggle and consume alcohol all the time, and it wasn’t even evening yet. That’s what he remembered in some old texts. Back when alcohol was allowed, there were customs that said you “had to wait until past five in the evening to drink”. Suddenly, the Brigade member in question turned around the corner and spotted him, and instantly averted him eyes from making contact with Elias’. This intrigued Elias enough. Despite the fact that the mystery person mad picked up their pace to pass Elias as quickly as possible, he still noted how the brunette’s seafoam-green eyes were red-rimmed and tired looking, and his face was still plenty damp. Before Elias could ask the stranger if he was okay, he was already turning the opposite corner, then disappeared again. “Oh well,” He muttered, shrugging the incident off. Thinking back on it, he did have a Galactic Corp. casual wear hoodie on, so he obviously was just a civilian taking a walk, like him. Sure he didn’t see people at all back here, but these corridors were normally open to the public. Deeming that there wasn’t much else to think about it, Elias easily forgot about the stranger as he pulled out his I.D. card -there were no guards today-, and held swiped it through the scanner next to the A.R.O.C. door. A small confirmatory noise was made, and the doors slide wide open for him. Smiling brightly, Elias walked inside to check up on his friend.

As the teen entered the vicinity, Armin’s processors woke him from a deep, almost hibernation leveled slumber. The cameras that allowed him to view Elias activated, but the hologram that allowed him to express himself and his emotions more clearly was locked away from his allowed features, so only his voice could be heard, much like in the A.S.O.C. Immediately noticing something was off, Armin made a small confused noise, then cleared his throat. “Oh! Hello Elias! What are you doing in the Ark Rose Operations Chambers?” It was odd; he shouldn’t be able to reach this place from his isolation. Perhaps he was back online? A quick and enthusiastic scan brought a disappointing “negative” answer. “I thought I was limited to the A.S.O.C.” Armin wondered aloud.

“Well, I talked to Caleb and he actually gave me access to this room as well, so that must mean he had activated your presence here as well.” Elias explained to his almost-double. “Actually, he gave me unlimited access here. I can check up on you whenever I feel like! Now you don’t have to worry about being abandoned.” His voice grew more enthusiastic by the second as he twisted in place on his heels, like a small engine rattling as it ignited.

“Really? That’s great, Elias.” Armin replied a little shocked but just as happily.

“Yep. Speaking of how you’re doing, the technicians fixed your “void” problem, right?”

“They did. They figured the loopback through my conscious was because I couldn’t turn myself ‘off’ per-say, so now my self awareness along with my regular human conscious is put into an inactive state when people aren’t here. It’s basically like when your computer goes into hibernation.” Armin explained calmly. If his avatar was active, he would have been putting his chin in his palm while he talked.

“That’s good.” Elias said as he made himself comfortable in the A.R.O.C. by sitting down, leaning his back against the shut door. Never have been there before, the teen took in his new surroundings with it’s low levels of lighting in cool navy hues, along with the enormous stacks of processing computers along the walls. What caught Elias’ eye, though, was a small triangular piece of flimsy plastic resting close to where a projector sat in the floor. With further investigation from where he sat, he realized that his eyes couldn’t adjust enough, so he got up, walked over, and picked up the mystery object. Both of them realized it was the torn off corner of a granola bar wrapper, with its serrated edge and, printed outside, and metallic inside. “Someone’s littered. Although, judging by the light coating of dust in here, I think it’s been at least a few weeks since anyone’s been in this room, which makes sense.” Elias observed, and was correct in his basic deduction.

“Oh,” Armin swallowed upon the realization that was one of Eren’s breakfast bars. He must have dropped it by accident some time ago. “A maintenance worker must have dropped it some time ago before I was isolated.” Armin would have been biting his lip.

“Still, I wish people would stop being so careless and start treating this place with respect.” He breathed a heavy, irritated sigh. “I bet if they knew who you really were and all you’ve been through, they’d treat you like they should. With respect and kindness.”

“I don’t really think-”

“I just wish sometimes that I could tell everyone, you know?” Elias started off angrily but it faded out to softness.

“You know you can’t do that. There are unimaginable consequences.” Armin reminded him a little too harshly, but corrected his tone just the same.

“I’m just upset that along with the upper government, I’m the only one who knows…” Elias mumbled dejectedly.

This would have caused Armin to look down with concern. No, there was someone else who knew, and Armin wanted to speak with him desperately. Just to clarify so _many_ things to him. The lack of any hope in sight for said opportunities made Armin almost feel a clench in his chest. “Eren…” Armin sighed lugubriously under his “breath”.

“Sorry, what?” Elias perked up.

“Oh, it’s nothing important.” There was a lightning fast pause, but still tremendously awkward for Armin. There certainly would have been a cerulean flush in his avatar’s cheeks. “I wouldn’t worry about the littering and other stuff too much. The place is practically yours now, anyway.” Armin sighed dismissively, knowing Elias would get that he could -and most certainly would- dust off the place, and it he would continue to be the only one who talked to him.

Armin was right, and it was probably going to be a long time until the situation proved otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not sorry.


	21. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only thing people can do in the face of change is to adapt.

Chapter 21 DRAFT

The two whole months that passed without a single major event happening still seemed to be encumbered by a blurry sluggishness and depression. Sullen over Marco’s death, the 104th seemed to get by, even if Marco no longer making sassy comments or or keeping Jean in check at the lunch table was still painfully obvious every day. The reminder was even more bitter whenever Jean’s temper flared around Eren. Despite his irritation, Eren didn’t have the will to fight back. There wasn’t any justification for his guilt that seemingly ate him alive, especially when he couldn’t blame himself for sending Marco to die. He _should_ be strong, but he _wasn’t_ , which only made him feel worse as a part of a nasty psychological spiral. If anyone had the right to mourn and mope, it was Jean, who had it worse than him in Eren’s eyes.

There weren’t any answers in sight concerning Armin, so that issue was thrown into the rest of the festering problems in Eren’s conscious. The group had begun to alienate Eren in their own attempts to get by. It made sense; Jean would become even nastier than normal when they came within close proximity and effectively drag everyone’s mood down. Mikasa, who had offered and attempted to sit with him at mealtimes, was told by Eren that she should support her boyfriend, he needed some time to think, and he’d be fine soon enough. About five minutes into his eighth lunch break sitting by himself, Eren realized that he was completely alone, and he broke down. The only way he knew how to fight back was to keep himself busy. Even when given the chance, he turned down every leave and vacation he was offered, because working along side his sister’s and captain’s high expectations was just enough to motivate him to get out of bed in the morning.

Eren spent two whole months like that, until a pleasant young man with hair as dark as a raven’s shadow and voluminous as a lion’s mane sat at his table, and gave him more than five minutes of his time without leaving him. Thoroughly catching Eren off guard, he showed sympathy and an understanding that no one else had gotten so far. Having a lot in common such as no present parental figures from the time they were young, the two made an accepting acquaintanceship almost immediately. Jaeger definitely could tell there was something off about his cordial behavior, but Eren was so lonely that he ended up reaching out to him nonetheless, his subconscious desperate for relief.

His name was Kyros.

Two figures were rushing down abnormally quiet halls with one pulling the other by their wrist. There hadn’t been any guards in ages, but nonetheless the two took precautions.

“Where are we _going_?” Celia whispered harshly as she tried to pry her hand from her brother’s grip. “You honestly can’t think you can drag me on a transport to Ark _Sina_ without me being suspicious of you, right?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Elias replied, just turning around long enough to give Celia a look of promise before turning back to pick up his pace further. They were getting closer by the second to Elias’ biggest secret.

“I still don’t think we should be here. There’s no one around.” She mumbled while trying to compensate for her brother’s quickening pace.

“Well it’s still a public passageway. No one’s here because it’s the engineering sector of the ship. _Besides_ , you still work in Engineering, and our parents did, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Elias corrected harshly as they turned the final corner, and slowed to a stop in front of a black door that split down the middle. Not liking being reminded of her parents, the young woman could only swallow and frown at Elias’ remark.

“Trust me, it’ll be worth it.” He said with a small smile, and pulled his I.D. out of his pocket. Seeing the “KEEP OUT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” under the “Ark Sina Operations Chamber” sign, Celia bobbed her head with concern when her brother swiped his card in the door’s reading slot.

“How’d you-” She gaped as the door started to slide open. “You haven’t been _hacking_ have you?” Celia demanded, completely abandoning her attempts at staying undetectable. If Elias hadn’t swayed his head to the side as if he were attempting the largest eye-roll in history, Celia wouldn’t have been able to tell he recognized her presence.

Without a word Elias pulled her inside and waited for the doors to shut along with the temporary pitch black atmosphere. Celia was greeted by the cold jarring atmosphere and the winds of hundreds of computer towers flowing past her skin, and shivered. The room lit up cyan at an effete pace, and Elias turned around once everything was visible with a look in his eyes that said he was in a chimerical place.

“Here we are!” He beamed.

Celia could only take in so much at once, so her mind began to freeze up. This was where _A.R.M.I.N._ , presided, and she had heard terrible things about what he was willing to do to people. “Uh… Elias, are, uh, you sure this is alright?” Her voice quavered.

“Yeah, yeah, it’ll be fine!” He dismissed. Knowing his sister’s expressions by heart, he could tell that Celia was internally screaming at him that he was crazy.

She gripped the zipper of her fleece, and shifted her body weight and knees inward. “Isn’t this place off limits?”

“The Administrator gave me special permission.” Elias shrugged, stuffing a hand into one of his pockets and running the other smoothly along the wall of A.R.M.I.N.’s chamber. He felt at home here, anyway.

“Even for me?” She inquired with arched brows.

“Well… Maybe not _exactly_ …” He trailed.

“Elias!” She shrieked. “I don’t want to get in trouble for this!”

“You won’t, you won’t!” He chided. “Everything will be just fine.” Both of them just scrunched their mouths at each other.

“But… This is where A.R.M.I.N. is, right..?” Averting her eyes, Celia played with a lock of hair that had fell from it’s place from her ponytail.

“Yeah… So?” Elias’ impatience was beginning to scratch the surface.

“I heard… things…” However Celia’s discomfort was more than apparent.

“Oh, that?” He openly laughed as if what Celia said was reminding him of a funny story that was terrifying at the time it actually happened. “Celia, he’s a lot nicer now!”

The young woman scrunched her nose at Elias’ attitude. “Ugh. If I get in trouble, I am _so_ beating you up for this!” She yelled with exasperation.

“But listen, Sis.” Expression going dour, he ran his free hand through his hair. “I’ve been keeping this from you for far too long now. All my meetings with A.R.M.I.N. in secret places around the ship… I wanted privacy to talk to the one person I really connect with…” He hadn’t even found about the A.R.O.C. until several weeks after the freakout incident. “Not that I can talk to you or anything.” He coughed, earning Celia sticking her tongue out at him.

“Uh-huh…” She dragged out incredulously.

“I don’t want to keep secrets from you anymore, Celia. I want you to know about this.” He looked at her with earnest.

The way Elias was acting about, frankly, a psychopath made her raise a brow. Seeing her brother talk about A.R.M.I.N. like it was more compassionate than anyone around him was concerning. She had seen others try to connect with him, but he turned them down with ease.

“We…” Elais swallowed. “We only have each other, after all.”

The other only felt her stomach churn. Reading his expression, she could tell Elias was completely serious. “Alright… I’ll trust you.”

Once he gave her a small nod in response, Elias waited in silence for Armin to show up; he always did by this point. Looking around the room as if it would serve as some indicator, the teen grew concerned. As his toes curled in his boots, Elias could only wait for him and hope that nothing happened to his closest friend.

Meanwhile, Armin had been perfectly active the second Elias’ foot was in the door. However, detecting an unauthorized presence, he decided to remain undetected to see who the person was, seeing that he couldn’t use his identification system nor his data banks in his current state. Armin could recognize Elias’ voice without skipping a beat, given that it was the only one he had heard for nearly a quarter of a year, but the flare of anger he felt when he realized _Elias_ brought a forbidden person to the A.S.O.C. quickly negated him from caring. It was a _girl_ of all things, and he was quick to assume, since Elias wasn’t exactly a social creature. If he even attempted to fool around, Armin was going to scare the shit out of them.

It quickly grew frustrating for him as the two talked about him as if he weren’t there, but soon enough the name “Celia” spilled out of Elias’ mouth, and Armin disregarded his previous notions with an inexpressible wave of awkwardness. He remembered now; Elias had mentioned his sister on many occasions and was the only other person he ever talked about in a positive light.

Soon enough the two had gotten into some deep conversation, and Armin had gone off on a tangent and distracted himself, so he decided to wait until he interrupted them. After all, Celia could potentially be detrimental to his own delicate situation. Internally sighing with empathy for the twins, he mulled over how many savage murders he himself had witnessed over the years. It was one of the few benefits of being oblivious to the outside world. On the other hand, Armin could only wonder how fast he could have taken care of Mr. and Mrs. Castner’s murderer if he had an omnipresent status during the blackout. He wished that people would have understood his _need_ to do things the way he had handled them, even if he did use the information he found -which he had been searching for tirelessly- on the identities of the Ark Maria attackers to bring an attack upon Rose as well. That much the bridge never figured out, but they didn’t need to know more than that he managed to trigger Eren’s powers. Hell, the blackout wouldn’t have even happened if he hadn’t been isolated.

A tired fog seemed to fall over Armin’s conscious as he thought about his “freakout”, and it suddenly developed into a sharp mental pain. A headache with no head that he could feel. This happened whenever he reflected on his actions from after he was thinking about Eren with his medical frog to right after Protocol Zero was put in place. It was especially painful whenever he tried to remember what caused that catalytic blackout in his own systems.

Snapping out of another tangent, Armin noticed Celia saying that she’d trust him, wordlessly cueing him to make an appearance if he was going to. Arg, he should have thought ahead more instead of getting caught up right off the bat in his own thoughts. Quick on his feet, he reasoned that he could not be sure if Celia would react negatively, so he decided to behave most like his canned and filtered self; it was the version she was used to hearing. Of course, there were certain aspects he couldn’t replicate while fully conscious, but he’d just have to make calls based on the situation. Just as the decision was made, he connected the speakers to the limited processing he had.

“Oh! Hello Celia!” He chirped.

“Wh- How?” Celia stuttered, referring to how he turned on without warning.

“I remember everyone on the entire ship, Elias. Especially those I care about.” Armin couldn’t remember if he was normally that cordial with citizens over the age of eight, but it slipped anyway with a small internal cringe.

“ _Wow_!” She strained, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while avoiding looking at her brother. “That’s, uh, _totally_ not creepy!”

“Celia you promised!” Elias retorted darkly, sounding genuinely hurt at her comment.

“Okay, okay! I’ll hear you two out.” She huffed.

Armin presumed she was talking about agreeing to hear him explain his actions out. Oh great, more things he had to try and remember from that fog. “The actions that may have frightened you were part of a complex plan to defend the ship.”

“He’s right, Celia. He wasn’t aware of his humanity back then.” Elias explained with certainty in his tone. “Without knowing it, he was throwing away his emotions and blocking them out… Choosing the preservation of humanity over regular human morals.” He assured, making Celia nod. All practically the entirety of the arks knew of his oblivion to his corporeal form at this point, however what no one in the room was aware of was it wasn’t some censorship and firewalls that made him behave completely hidebound.

Regardless, Celia couldn’t ignore what she had observed. “And… he understands what he did was bad?”

“Bad? My plan ended up triggering Cadet _Jaeger’s_ Titan-manipulation abilities. Without that, we could have faced an onslaught of traitors with no way to defend ourselves.” The robotic voice stated matter-of-factly. Swallowing, Elias looked nervously at Celia; Armin sounded like he felt completely justified in what he believed to be true. Armin couldn’t exactly remember what exactly he was planning on doing with Eren once he activated the gene, but it felt different than what his personal reasoning told him now. The internal dissonance in his head was noisome, but even more so trying to think about _why_.

“I heard you even threatened to kill people to do that though!” She snapped.

Armin felt a small sting of guilt. “Back then, I had to make Eren’s situation as desperate as possible.”

“Talk about being cold.” Celia announced.

“Did you just-”

“Gah, you’re hard to persuade, Sis.” Elias’ face contorted with frustration.

“It’s completely fine, Elias.” He started up nervously in attempt to change the subject which was focused on him. “Considering… your parents, it’s amazing that she’s been holding up as well as she has.” Armin waited for a retort, but nothing came. “... Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She said with her throat clearly constricted, and her eyes pointed at the floor.

“But it’s been two months since then.” The other corrected. “We need to move on. We need to grow stronger from this.” He turned from Celia with a huffy sigh to give Armin his attention again. “That’s why I brought Celia here; I don’t want to keep secrets from her anymore.”

She felt her throat constrict once more. Knowing it wasn’t that much, she still appreciated the increase in attention she got from her brother. “Thanks, Elias… That means a lot to me…”

The three of them waited in a billowing silence that never felt like it was ready to end, so they all drifted off into their own trains of thought. Elias was concerned for Armin and what the higher ups were doing to fix him. Armin was wondering about the arks and the contingencies that were surely going to come to a head sooner or later. Even if the teenager behind the very wall she leaned against had questionable beliefs and Celia wasn’t sure how to feel about the two getting along so well, but it was certain that the two were uncannily similar.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that it wouldn’t be good for her brother.

 

 


	22. Conduit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Administrator works to find a solution to the arks technological gridlock.

Chapter 22 DRAFT

Once again swirling with an unnecessary tension, another GOVCOM meeting was in full swing, full of chatty and disgruntled figured of all ages as per the usual. Many issues had been debated and passed in the last two months, but any notion concerning A.R.M.I.N. had not even been touched. Most men in the room enjoyed calling it “indecisiveness”, but the truth was that they felt there were other issues they could get away with concerning themselves with first, like personal items. In fact, the only reason why they were touching it now was that Consol Reebs pointed out that the A.R.M.I.N. was still a desideratum for the arks’ safety, given that one of his functions was to predict Titan movement, and he could _not_ do that while he was isolated. That and many other issues tied into the arks’ condition, which included that in the two months that past the security networks were rewritten to accommodate the lack of conduit, the murder of Annie Leonhardt was most likely connected to whoever committed sabotage on the engines in the first place, and the lack of central conduit made overall functions of the arks less functional.

Some argued that these issues should be handled separately, for they were individual components of the overall vitality of the arks, but Gaius was quick enough in snuffing their opinion out with the reality that the issues were, in fact, central. Wanting it just as much as anyone else, Gaius wished for society to go back to normal, so discontent would cease, and their rule would continue as always. The only thing standing in their way was exactly how the GOVCOM would settle the issue; there were many imperfect and flawed options.

“Well, I’m sure you’re all aware of the possibilities we’ve been thinking of.” Porter corralled the conversation back in. “Either we find a replacement for the A.R.M.I.N. system that could serve as a new connection to the engines or we could re-initialize Armin completely.”

Acacius’ ears perked at the mention of wiping everything but Armin’s mainframe clean. “That’s what happened last time, right?” She inquired with sympathy.

“Exactly.” Zackley confirmed, knowing just as everyone else in the room that the boy’s mind was theirs to toy with without Armin’s knowledge, leaving him to only guess what happened if he detected a change in his psyche.

“But each of these has it’s own risks.” Pixis sat up straighter in his chair to grab the room’s attention. “Re-initialization can fail; we’ve done it before and who knows if he’ll figure that fait accompli out and react more predictably than we would hope. Even if he’s not dangerous at the moment, who knows what he could manage while the system gates -that would allow us to wipe him- were open.” He explained with a sage demeanor. “A new form of completely dependant and controllable system that would centralize the connections has been unheard of in computer science. Artificial Intelligence could only get our ancestors so far. That’s why we turned to an integration of an A.I. and the human mind.” He breathed a pause. “There’s only one sure way to get it right.”

“We’ve already discussed this, Pixis. It’s not going to happen.” Cooper shut him own automatically.

“We should at least hear him out!” Someone interrupted. Looking like he was gazing upon noisome school children, Pixis sighed.

“We could find a new conduit- a _new host_.”

A silence filled the room while the considered the possibilities.

“If-... If it were possible to seamlessly trade out the corporeal minds in the system, how would the conduit system even handle it? It was personally tailored for Armin Arlert.” Reebs inquired.

“I’m already working on it.” Pixis confirmed with a smirk. “I’ve gotten our top technological specialist -Hanji Zoe- on the case, going through our data banks to find the closest genetic and psychological match possible.”

“Well you seem rather confident on the issue. If you can find a match, we’ll discuss this further. It’s not like we have any other viable options.” Zackley declared. “Until then, meeting adjourned.” He said, then aligned his papers on his desk with a few taps.

Seething in the back corner, Gaius launched himself out of his chair and onto his feet, and strode past the crowd with large steps, not caring if he bumped into them. “Senile old fool.” He muttered. “Who would even _replace_ Armin?”

“I already told you, Elias. There’s no need to bow.” Administrator Caleb reminded the boy bent into a ninety degree angle in his doorframe.

“Oh,” He muttered under his breath, then stood up straight and walked inside to hover by the Administrator’s desk. “You called me here sir?”

“Yes. Please take a seat.” Caleb instructed politely with exasperation already tinging his tone. Scrunching his mouth, the younger stiffly slouched into the chair opposite of Caleb’s. “You… do know we keep track of who goes in and out of both of A.R.M.I.N.’s Operations Chambers, right?” He started.

Elias’ face blanched. “Sir, if this is about my recent-”

“You have to stop.” He interrupted before Elias could make those huge eyes he had any larger and make excuses. Caleb tried not to show it, but he was already at the end of his rope today.

“What?” Flooded instantly with panic, Elias yelled as loudly as he could have gotten away with.

“A.R.M.I.N.’s situation is becoming… What’s the word?.. Politicized.” He informed the other gravely.

“That stuff has nothing to do with my visits.” He spat, digging his fingers into the edge of Caleb’s desktop.

“No one should be in there at _all_ , Elias. Let along you and your civilian sister.” The Administer reminded while running his fingers through his hair.

“So it’s about that, then…” Elias muttered even if he had already been certain that was the reason he had been called down by Caleb so suddenly.

“Not just that… You honestly could not have believed that no one would find out you brought her in there. It’s the most sensitive part of the ship, so we monitor it constantly.”

“Yes, but-”

“I _get_ he trusts you and all -and that’s great-, but things are getting too complicated to let it continue as it is.”

“Celia won’t say anything. I promise!” Elias’ tone quickly grew petulant. “She’s really good at keeping secrets, Administrator.”

Feeling a migraine coming on, Caleb rubbed his temples and directed his vision away from the teenager across from him. “Even if that were true, if I don’t stop this, well, the Committee will have my ass for it.” He felt that he had cracked and let on more than he should have, but he was determined to stop it at that. It was no one’s business but his own.

“Who cares what they think?” Castner snapped. Only the cosmos knew his growing odium for the GOVCOM’s repeated deplorable actions against Armin.

“Believe it or not, they’re the one’s who…” He caught himself and trailed off. Caleb, who was already drowning in stress, did not need a perturbed adolescent ranting in his office. “Just please, don’t fight me on this.” He stated definitively.

When Caleb kept shutting down his arguments, Elias could feel his throat go dry and his pulse race. The well lit room became distracting, and it clashed with the off-cyan furniture. “Sir…” He blurted, then thought of what would work. He knew Caleb was possibly the most empathetic man on the arks. “My parents are dead.” He looked down at his lap, thinking of what he had just told Celia. “She’s… She’s all I have left. I just wanna share with her the _one person_ I can talk to, the one person that understands me.” Castner looked up at him slowly.

“Elias, that’s sad to hear and all,” Caleb started softly. “But-”

“This is the only way I can truly _matter_ , Caleb.” Elias snapped. “Working in records is great… but… when I’m with Armin…” He trailed off, almost wistfully. “I feel _important_ \- like I matter.”

At the end of his rope and beaten down, the Administrator could feel Elias’ eyes burn into him as he moved a picture of his graduating class over on his desk. Sighing, he looked back at the other apprehensively. “Alright. You can keep going.”

“Really?” He beamed.

“Yeah, but you can’t be spending long hours in there, alright? Then you’re just begging for someone to start asking questions.”

“Thank you, sir!” He shouted then began to rise out of his chair to leave without another word.

“Now…” Caleb continued, making Elias begrudgingly float back down into his seat. “Since we’re talking about A.R.M.I.N., and you have spent a considerable amount of time with him in his most raw form… I thought you should know what’s going on behind the scenes.” The man tread with caution. “I’m only telling you this because you seem to be the only person on the arks that can explain his behavior and knows him well enough.”

This got Elias’ interest and he quickly complied. “I understand, Administrator.”

“You technically shouldn’t know any of this… You’ll keep this a secret, right?” He inquired while his eyes shifted around the room and his arms drew closer to his sides. Because of the recently developed knot in his stomach, Caleb reached the end of his rope.

Huffing a short chuckle, the teen merely shrugged. “Of course.”

The action queued the Administrator to suck in a breath and tense up. “I don’t think anyone understands what I have put up with every day in this job! I have the Committee on my neck twenty-four-seven, with some of them still thinking they’re Administrators!” He seethed with the built up frustration of feeling inert and pointless in the meeting room he had to report to every day.

“I understand completely. I document your actions concerning the roles of government, after all.” Castner affirmed.

“Whenever you bring up A.R.M.I.N., it just sends me back to that ridiculously dark meeting room. Only recently they’ve decided to debate about what to do with him, as if he were some object.” He ranted while wiping his face with his palm. “And me? I’m _supposed_ to mediate, but they don’t give a damn what I say!”

The teen only blinked at him for a second, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Back when you activated Protocol Zero… you said we needed to repair A.R.M.I.N.. Is that what you’ve been discussing?”

Sighing with exasperation, Caleb glanced at him dully. “I’m not even sure what I meant by that. At the time, I was ignorant to the complexity of his chains and webs, and I was under pressure to make the right choice in the moment. I- I was just thinking we would delete his memories like what they did in 317.”

“What?” Elias burst, eyes wide and furious.

“P-Please, calm yourself. That’s not how things are now. I’ve seen Armin interact with you in the Operations Chambers, and how human he really is. He knows it, too… More than just accepting a fact that’s still foreign to him. It’s like he’s known it all along when he’s with you.”

“Can’t we just remove him from the room itself?” Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins.

“Huh?”

“I mean- he’s just sitting there with no purpose to the arks anymore! Why can’t he be let out?”

“We- We can’t do that.” He stated uneasily with a hint of warning on the edges.

“Why not?” Castner spat petulantly.

“That’s… The one thing I can’t say.” Caleb just _couldn’t_ let Elias know about the one plan -still in its uncertain and improbable stages- they had.

“What would the Admiral think?” Elias bit his lip.

“I’m not sure she even has jurisdiction over over this issue, but she was there at the meetings… I’m just not sure.” Caleb, who had only dragged Elias in his office to tell him one thing, realized how far behind he was on his work, and fell into a prolonged and uncomfortable silence. If things went much longer as they were, the Committee would have the Administrator’s ass for it. “Tell you what,”

“Hm?” Elias looked up from his fidgeting hands.

“I’ll report what your ideas to the Committee and Acacius- just to see what she thinks. I’d do more but there aren’t many things to follow up on since we’re waiting on information.”

Elias got the message and began to stand up. “Alright. That sounds sufficient.” He stood and stretched.

“Mm-hm. I’ll let you know what we come up with when I can… and if I’m allowed to. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, Sir!” With that, Elias stood fully erect and made his way towards the door filled with a mix of high strung energies.

“Just remember what I said!” Caleb called after him.

“Will do!” Castner shouted back without bothering to turn around. Door shutting behind him, Elias was blocked from view.

Settling back into his work with a tired exhale, Caleb pulled his work back up onto the screen. A fresh heap of messages had been left for him in the few minutes he had stopped slaving away. Flashing an obnoxious orange, a message that was marked of high importance was at the top of the queue. With a tired click, he opened the message to read it, however when he began to browse its contents, his eyes lit up with shock.

 

Sent from: hanjizoe@techdepartmentA1

Subject: CONDUIT MATCH FOUND

 

Good news! We found an exact match for the conduit system within a 99.99% match in thought process and genetic makeup. (They may have slightly varying opinions, but it’s the logical thinking that counts!) There may be only one person available for the job, but they’re in prime condition if you decide to go through with this. Of course, you’re going to need to pull them into your office and convince them to do it. It’s a big sacrifice on their part. Anyway, here’s his bio!

Name: Elias Castner

Age: 16

Siblings: Celia Castner

Parental status: Orphan

I.D.: 9772938209875209201

 

Good luck!

Lt. Zoe

 

With a gasp Caleb’s head snapped to look back at the door where Elias just stood.

 


	23. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb offers Elias a choice, but the teenager doesn't exactly handle the information properly.

Chapter 23 DRAFT

Just as Elias made his way into the engineering sector of the ark to tell Armin the good news before he caught his transport back to Ark Rose, he was intercepted by a PC guard with a heavy clap on his shoulder. With a heavy eye roll and sigh, he turned to look at the extraordinarily muscular guard glaring down at him.

“Look, Ma’am, if this is about A.R.M.I.N., I already have renewed authorization to go into the-”

“I don’t care.” She said starkly with a toss of her silver locks. “I’ve been ordered to bring you to Administrator Caleb personally to discuss some high profile information with you.”

“Are you sure that isn’t an unupdated command file? I was in his office literally ten minutes ago.” Castner retorted with a jaded tone and a raised brow.

“Oh I’m sure. It says right here that I could find you close to his office since you left recently, and that you would probably be on a route that leads to the Operations Chambers.”

“Oh.” He said sheepishly and looked away from her to hide his slight embarrassment.

“Just come with me. I don’t have time for this.” She instructed with a gentle and guiding shove in the opposite direction.

The walk, which was unsurprisingly in total silence, took twice as long since Elias was no longer practically skipping. An unsettling feeling settled over the teen like a heavy mist, and he was unsure of what to make of it. It almost felt foreboding, if he believed in fate. Historians usually ended up either believing fate was responsible for everything or it didn’t exist, and Elias was one of the latter. Eventually Elias and the guard made it back to where he had started, and the guard pressed the button to the intercom.

“Hello?” Caleb answered almost immediately.

“He’s here.” She replied curtly.

“Oh! Thank you for making that so fast. I needed it that.”

“You’re welcome, Sir.” She almost droned, then walked away without another word just in time for the doors to Caleb’s office to open wide. Elias did not need to be told to come inside and sit down across from the other person in the room.

“Sorry for not catching you sooner, Elias. If the message was sent a bit earlier I would have been able to give you it in the same sit down.” He fretted. Somehow the bags under Caleb’s eyes seemed to have grown heavier looking in the half hour Elias was gone.

“It’s not a problem, Administrator.” He smiled cordially, moving a hair that had settled on his face back to its proper spot. “So what’s the issue, exactly?”

“Well…” Caleb struggled to figure out how to broach the subject delicately. “It’s about… why I couldn’t tell you about why exactly we couldn’t set Armin free since he’s inert to the ship.” Elias’ eyes widened dramatically, causing Caleb to avert his gaze and bite his lip. “You see… The Committee had actually been discussing something similar to your own proposal. The difference between yours and theirs is that yours is problematic; despite making adjustments to the systems so they’d be independent of the conduit, they still only work at half the capacity we need to be as safe as we can be in these hostile zones of space.”

“So you _have_ to keep the conduit there. But why couldn’t you tell me?” He was obviously disgruntled as he crossed his legs.

“I decided not to tell you because you would most likely tell Armin the second you got the chance, and I didn’t know if the Committee’s solution would ever reach a probable conclusion.” He sighed. “It would be making a promise to him that I don’t know if I could keep.”

“Then what did the Committee come up with then?” Elias’ tone crawled with nerves, and he could feel that very energy transfer into the crescent shaped red markings he was leaving in his palms.

“Vice-Admiral Pixis suggested that we.. find a new host.”

“ _Oh_.” Elias made a sound similar to a creaking hinge.  “Would that even work?”

“Well, we had our specialists run extensive tests, and in theory, it could work. The main concern we had in the first place was that the system would reject the host we selected, seeing that it’s specially attuned to Armin’s brain and thought process.” The Administrator’s voice involuntarily rose in pitch.

“So you found someone?” Castner bit his lip while he tried not to let his excitement for Armin’s freedom mess with his reasoning; there could be serious implications for the entirety of humanity if the replacement was unpredictably brash in his actions. Even if Armin himself had been “brash”, Elias believed he had the situation completely under control. That is, until he threw a curveball at him with his real identity.

“We did. That’s why I called you in, because I know you’re heavily involved with A.R.M.I.N. already.” He took a deep, calming breath. “The test results came in with only one match that could possibly even work, and… It’s you.” The formal statement forced Caleb into a pose of paternalism, with his hands interlaced to support his chin.

Head spinning and unable to process what he was just told, Elias could only look at Caleb with shock.

“I’m formally asking you if you would consider becoming the arks’ new conduit. It would be a completely fresh start with none of the patches Armin’s system has on him now, just like how he started out.” He said slowly and officially.

Elias continued to stare at him until what he was implying clicked into place. “You’re kidding, right?” He nearly squeaked. Caleb winced as he looked at their only option in front of him.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“It’s… It’s just a lot to take in.” He said breathlessly, flopping back further into his seat and sprawling his legs out, accidentally kicking Caleb in the shin.

“That’s understandable.” The Administrator nearly growled.

“For me to replace Armin as the computer… I- I don’t know what to say.” A miniscule smile spread across his face with the honor he felt.

“I won’t force you to do it,” he coaxed, “but, it seems the most likely way to resolve this situation. We could always erase Armin’s memory again, but now I’m not willing to do that with my authority.”

“Why me?” He asked for clarification.

“Our genetic tests confirm it: you are the closest match to Armin Arlert.” His eyes darted off to the results on his computer screen.

“I always knew we thought similarly, but to be related?” His smile grew as he tried to wrap his head around the concept.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the report myself.” His voice infused a lighthearted chuckle into it.

“Is it through a cousin? Or one of his siblings?”

“Directly descended or not, you _are_ the closest match. With the system designed to be a perfect match for Armin, you’re likely our only bet.” Caleb repeated. He knew it was a huge sacrifice, but he needed to convince Elias to do it anyway.

Elias released a small “Heh.” from his throat.

“What is it?” Caleb’s brows scrunched.

“Well in hindsight, it makes total sense with the feeling I got around him. I always felt safe in the fact that we understood each other so well, like a ghost or a guardian angel.” He elucidated with the same sanguine tone in his voice whenever he talked about Armin.

A small break in their conversation held the both of them; Caleb really didn’t relate or need Elias to elaborate further. “You need to decide soon.” He pressed. “You have time, of course… But I’m not sure how much longer the GOVCOM will be stuck in this months-long deadlock.” The young man elaborated while he glanced over to see his messages start to build up again. Both of their complexions, which had finally seemed to reached sanguine levels, paled instantaneously.

“I’ll have to tell my sister…” Elias gnawed the insides of his cheeks.

“Be honest to her, and _yourself_. May I remind you that this is a enormous sacrifice on your part, and you of all people should be aware of the dangers the position holds to your personal and mental safety.” He looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t know if I can protect you from the Committee’s insidious measures and refinery of your conscious.”

“I understand.” Castner dismissed, puffing his cheeks lightly. He already had a decision in mind with almost every reason to do it.

The Administrator, however, could practically read Elias’ mind through the expression he wore, and swallowed a gasp. “Just promise me this: Armin made the choice. You have no _obligations_ to go through with this. He donated his life to our future. Keep your priorities in perspective, okay?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’ve kept you long enough, and I’m well aware your shift starts soon. Dismissed.” He stood to offer Elias his hand, and the other complied with an uneasy posture.

“Thank you… Sir.” Letting go with a single nod, he paced his way slowly out of the cerulean office, mind encumbered with information.

The pace at which Elias made his way to the ark transporters was slower than what was necessary to get to work on time; there was too much on his mind. Sure, he knew what his sister would think already, but this was his chance to _mean something_. He’d finally be important. Of course this was also the perfect opportunity to finally help Armin, since he deserved so much and nobody except him seemed to care for him as much as Elias did. Stopping dead in his tracks in the middle of the bustling terminal, Elias dawned upon a conclusion: the only opinion that mattered at this point in his decision was Armin’s himself.

The back of his mind, which never let anything that broached his morals pass him, reminded him that he would be actually skipping his shift. However his own priorities placed urgency on the subject with greater long term impact, and quickly overrode his guilt. It was just this one time, and besides, _Dev_ could do his share of work for once anyways. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he’d keep his moaning and complaining to _himself_ for once in the face of actually being a useful person. Turning on his heels, Elias hightailed it back to the A.S.O.C. as fast as his feet could carry him.

Once he actually made it to his destination, Elias nearly tripped and tumbled his way into Armin’s kingdom of isolation, his enclave where he continued to remain frozen in time. His loud panting was enough to awaken Armin from his technologically induced slumber, and the programming deemed it necessary to audiate Armin yawning and smacking his lips together, despite the fact that they were stationary.

“Hey Elias.” He said complacently, since he honestly wasn’t expecting anyone else at this point, and it was safe to assume it would always be him until further notice.

“Armin, I-” he gasped, unable to catch his breath as he wiped the hair that stuck to his face with sweat out of his face.

“Elais? What’s the matter?” His voice conveyed more concern as the electronic garble lessened with time until it sounded more human than anywhere else on the arks.

“I just-” Elias sputtered, until a mere second later he gathered the willpower to excitedly spill everything he had just learned in the last hour or so. The GOVCOM’s delays, their previous plans, what they had done to him in 317, the possibility of him finally being freed, _everything_. Finally finishing his rant and breathing heavily, Elias plopped to the cyan floor and rested his back against the door to where Armin lied.

Armin did not say a word for the longest time. So many things which he had only discussed with Eren in detail suddenly made bridges and connections to the information he was just given now. Instantly suppressing his emotions regarding his memory, he revelled in his epiphany. No wonder he couldn’t remember practically anything regarding his past beyond being a computer. He hadn’t _misplaced_ the information, it was just taken away from him. He had told Eren himself that everything was fuzzy, and he got the feeling he was about to have the same melancholy conversation with Elias now. And now of all things when he had once again grown accustomed to the idea of being alone and waiting another year until humanity arrived, Elias was considering taking his place for him. That was another thing they’d have to discuss before Elias left. Armin did not speak until he was ready to do so calmly.

“So that’s how it is, huh..?” He finally said, clearly dazed.

“It’s what I’ve been told at least.” Castner swallowed to get rid of the dryness in his throat, and curled his knees to his chest.

“That explains many things, actually.”

“That’s what I said, too.” He confirmed, talking about a completely a different subject.

“You can’t see it from out here, but… I think I had blonde hair once, too.” He said slowly and gravely, not even bothering to hope for the tiniest chance that some memory from his past would rise up and confirm his guesses.

“Like me?”

“Yeah! God it’s...” It was exciting enough to even guess what blonde was in the limited yet certain sense he knew, but all the times he had seen blonde hair was through the times he had watched Eren interact with blonde people when he reviewed small clips of Eren’s footage in real time. That was back when he still had to worry about Eren spilling the knowledge he was human, but now everyone on the arks knew. That was so recent, though… Eren’s involvement in his life had only been a miniscule fraction of the time he had spent completely in the dark, only to be made self aware twice a year by the tech specialists. “It’s been so long. Even the memories I can scrape together are more like shadows than tangible visions.”

“What do you think?” Elias asked gently. He took immense pity for his friend, and subconsciously began to rub the door behind his back with his fingers.

“Think about what?”

“...Me taking your place.”

“This isn’t my decision, Elias, and I shouldn’t make it for you.” He couldn’t let himself get excited over the prospect; he had signed up for all one thousand years, and he didn’t want to put Elias in such a terrible position.

“But I trust your advice.” He almost whined, making Armin sigh with the frustration of having to take a side on an issue he shouldn’t have even heard about.

“My approach sounds far too self-interested… Since… I wonder whether it would mean I could live as a normal human again.” He admitted.

“I don’t see why not.” Elias encouraged.

“I could walk around… Touch the ground with my own feet… I could interact with people in _person_. I’d love to actually breathe the air, Elias, but…” Armin caught himself being way too wistful for everyone’s sake. “I just don’t want you thinking of me when you decide.”

“I want that for you, Armin. If I could help it, I want you to experience that again. You’re right though, there are too many variables to make a decision right this moment.” He lied right through his teeth about the last thing. At least, his heart was lying. Armin was like a wise older brother or cousin, and he wanted more than anything to help the one person who was really there for him. He had his own reasons to before, but the only thing stopping him from running to Caleb with an enormous “yes” was the few uncertainties he had over the unknown. However, Armin was accounting for things that Elias was seemingly forgetting to consider as well.

“Have you talked to Celia yet?” He said to ground his friend.

“No, and frankly, it’s not something I care to think about. It would be hard to deal with talking to her.” Castner grumbled.

“She’s your only sister.” Armin chided, but then softened as he continued. “It’s important to share this information with her before you do this, you know? Besides, I think she cares for you more than you realize, and she’ll understand whatever you decide to do.”

“How would she even take it?” Elias began to worry. “She’s all I have now, and I’m not sure if I could abandon her without guilt.”

“I made the choice on my own volition, if that helps. I… left behind people on Earth. In a way, I’ve left people behind just recently.” Depression clouded Armin’s tone. If he could activate his hologram, it would have slouched over with a lachrymose sigh.

“I’ll… have to face Celia at some point… Just not now.” He decided aloud, finally bringing some closure to his thoughts.

Without warning, the door slid open to have five or so officers pour into the room, their postures vibrant with the edge of official business. Castner, who had just managed to close his eyes heavy in thought, shot up to a standing position with a consternated grunt.

“Make sure the entire corridor is blocked off.” The head ordered, seemingly unaware of Elias’ presence.

“All of the access points must be closed off!” another shouted into a communicator somewhere out in the hallway.

Elias was frozen like an andromeda Cervidae caught in the bridge lights of the arks. “What’s going on here?”

“The entire area is under lockdown by order of the GOVCOM. No one’s allowed in or out.” The first shouted.

The young man nearly snorted at them he was so fed up. “I have permission from-”

“If he has to fucking ask you again, I will disable you completely!” Another who was _clearly_ a rookie yelled in Elias’ face. He honestly couldn’t believe the audacity of this kid; what Gaius ordered was none of his business to question. Hell, even he never questioned Gaius’ motives.

”Sir, I don’t understand. This is crazy!” He yelled back. Armin knew it wasn’t wise to talk, but his blood _boiled_ when the GOVCOM was mentioned, and completely agreed with his friend.

“Come with me, you obnoxious brat, or I’ll cite you so harshly that society will curse your name!” The rookie grabbed Elias by the arm with unnecessary force and began to drag him, making him yelp. Tossing Elias to the ground outside the A.S.O.C., the PC guard grunted heavily. “There! Now get lost!” He ordered, sending Elias scrambling to his feet and running away from Armin.

Once he was a safe distance away with a side-stitch eating at his ribs, Elias stopped to rest his hands on his knees, but it didn’t take long to think of what was happening. If A.R.M.I.N. was politicized, then the Committee surely knew about the potential plan involving himself, and that would erase the perfect system that A.R.M.I.N. was before he had a breakdown. He knew what to do.

“I have to tell Caleb.” He wheezed before starting into another sprint.

 


	24. Elf Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Harbinger and the Elf Boy negotiate for the gene carrier's name. If you could call it negotiating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOD was this fun to write. I think this is the most fun I've ever had writing, I'm so-

Chapter 24 DRAFT

A young man almost the exact same age as Caleb lay alone on his bed completely supine with his hands resting on his stomach. The only thing that moved in the room was the heavy rise and fall of his stocky torso. Even the air dared not to move; the AC had been turned off to allow total silence in his surroundings. Resting over his eyes, his raven voluminous curls silently irritated the man, but then again, nearly everything at the moment was.

“I’ve kept you out of this unless you were needed as a last resort, and that’s the case now. Don’t disappoint me, Kyros.” His commander’s voice rang through his head, even if he heard it a little over two months ago now. Kyros, who would never even think of doing anything less for his commander, was ready to tear his own hair out in frustration. It was so _easy_ when he had the human’s computer under his command control, but it was just like he said a week or something ago now: He never would have guessed that the GOVCOM would have actually fixed the problem. Now he was alone and desperate enough to actually put himself at risk by attempting to infiltrate the Galactic Surveys.

The boy he met, Eren, was gullible enough and not suspect of him in the least. When Kyros had first found him, Eren was sitting alone at a lunch table in the mess hall, and it was clear that he had just finished crying. It was easy enough to figure out exactly what he needed to mold himself into so Eren would trust him. Hell, it turned out he was so lonely and guilt-ridden that he practically used him as an anchor. Chuckling aloud, Kyros recalled the times Eren even invited him over to train together at the gym .

Unfortunately, even that didn’t help his quest. Eren didn’t provide a single clue as to the gene carrier’s whereabouts. Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt had all screwed up the original plan -finding the single gene and convert him to help them destroy humanity- but they failed so miserably that not only did the carrier realize their powers, but he could use them against his fraction and his home. The situation Kyros now found himself in was the most desperate he had been since he was a child, which was why he was in his room alone.

Realizing that he was getting too riled up, Kyros froze himself up before trying his task again. He took several deep breaths until he felt his conscious begin to drift away from his personal confines. He began to feel out where Reiner and Bertholdt were nearby, a small glimpse of the carrier somewhere on the ship, and even the people at home _so_ far away. Because of the far distance away that he was, it took a good ten seconds to drift and connect with him. Eventually his vision and connection became strong enough that he stood in an unbearably dry cave, or at least, he projected himself into that location.

Looking around, Kyros tried to find his “projector”, but he was nowhere to be found, until he thought to look upwards. Sure enough, there he was, lounging, suspended in the air against the ceiling of the cave without a single care and an absolutely _bored_ expression upon his face. The entity certainly knew of Kyros’ presence, but decided to ignore him until he felt like it. After a mere second or two, Kyros grew impatient and huffed audibly. The entity, who had to suppress a giggle, turned his ethereal body containing the ornate void of space towards the speck below him, and floated downward until his toes touched the ground. Despite his unusual body, pointed ears, and plum shaded hair, the entity’s features above his neck were similar to Kyros’: they both had deep and bruised vertical etchings into their cheeks, and bright red eyes. Kyros, despite valuing the entity’s importance to his culture, didn’t like to deal with his people’s Hivemind Entity in the slightest, and was reminded of this when the Hivemind looked at him with a smug annoyance.

“You’re here. Again.” He spat in his humorously nasal voice. The man’s eye twitched; based on the Hivemind’s appearance and voice alone, he couldn’t take him seriously, but both of them knew he had the power of a god.

“I’ve learned a great deal since the last time we spoke.” Kyros said cooly, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

“Your presence is irrelevant.” He rubbed in without a single care given. “A speck of fresh is all I see.”

“In the few months I’ve been on the arks,” He said impatiently, “I’ve become uniquely acquainted with the way humans… Feel.”

“I don’t care.” He flashed a smirk, then turned around to face away from his “visitor”.

“It’s been an _interesting_ mission, I’ll give it that.” Kyros growled.

“Humans are boring creatures; only their intrinsic desire to destroy themselves interests me.”

“Perhaps I have something to add to your knowledge on that.” The man’s voice came out like velvet; he knew the only thing that could seduce the HIvemind was any antidote to his boredom. The Hivemind’s head twitched over his shoulder to look at the other, but then stopped himself.

“There is little information I could ever learn from you.” He spat.

“Nevertheless, I still-”

“I _know_ why you’re here, Kyros. You can stop this facade.” The Hivemind reminded him of his demipotence.

“It’s been three months.” Kyros was on the verge of losing his suave demeanor. “Haven’t I done enough?”

“And you’ve proven your worth. You are nothing.” The Hivemind nearly laughed.

“Why has the gene carrier’s name been kept from me?” He began to sound desperate.

“Being kept from you?” He turned to face Kyros once more with a brow arched. “When was someone like you ever entitled to this kind of information? Do you think because you are strong, I bend to your will?” Just to prove a point, he floated away from the ground, hovered right above the other’s head, and threatened to stand atop of it.

“I thought you would be at least of _some_ assistance!” He swatted at the entity with his hands.

“You are laughable at best, Kyros. Honestly, your impatience is the most amusing thing about you.”

“I’ve done more for you than anyone else!” The man pleaded, sick of his petulance.

“Quiet.” The other snapped, then floated out of his reach to put his arms behind his head and cross his legs. “Your pleading is annoying.”

“My mission will fail if I don’t find out! You know what that means.”

“You’ve spent over two months attempting to find him.” He summarized, dripping with sarcastic sympathy. He then rolled over onto his stomach to prop his head up with his arms, and made a pouty face at the speck of flesh. “If _only_ I would tell you…”

Kyros was at a loss, and took a deep breath to steady himself. “Is… there _anything_ I can do to get you to tell me? Anything?” He begged with internal reluctance.

“Oh, you’ve resorted to begging now? My, I think you were made to amuse me.” The Hivemind said sweetly, kicking his feet back and forth in the air like an adolescent female.

“I only wish to protect you.”

“Don’t patronize me.” He spat.

“Sorry…” Kyros muttered.

“Hmph. Things have grown a little stale, lately. This game remains boring, and your begging even more so. A wrench needs to be thrown into things.”

“Of course.” Relief could be heard flooding his voice; he was finally getting somewhere with the bratty god.

“I will tell you what you want to know one one condition.” He smiled toothily.

“Sure,” he breathed eagerly. “what is it?”

“You must continue to be an amusing speck of a creature.” The entity began, making Kyros roll his eyes.

“I’m sorry?” Kyros asked flatly.

“Make things _interesting_. I have a long time to watch.”

“That means you’ll let me-?” The shadow asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. After floating back down to the ground, the Hivemind Entity stood square in front of him at eye level with his chest, and looked him in the eye.

“Rip. Them. To shreds.”

“Yes… I can do that.” He confirmed darkly with an almost venereal tone.

“Good.”

“I _need_ the gene carrier’s name.” He pressed one more time.

“His name…” He said slowly with the satisfaction of releasing hell upon those ships. “Is Eren Jaeger.”

Kyros was instantaneously ejected from the HIvemind’s presence, and he sat up with a start. It was that lonely _teenager_ this whole time, the person he chose to _find out_ who the carrier was.

“Son of a bitch.” Kyros uttered through his teeth, snapping his head to look at the closed door to his room with fury.

 


	25. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Administrator Caleb fails to take on his attackers, Elias comes up with his own unconventional ideas.

Chapter 25 DRAFT

Elias, who had barely any time to rest since he sprinted to the A.S.O.C., was once again making his way back to Administrator Caleb’s office for the third time that day, only he was willingly going there this time. Not having any anything close to an impeccable endurance because of his occupation, the young man huffed and puffed as sprinted back. A short while later, Elias finally made it back to the office with his side-stitch positively burning, and slammed his finger onto the intercom button.

Finally settled into his work, Caleb was fully entrenched in his emails and messages when the intercom tone went off, heavily startling him.

“Ah-! Who- Who is it?” He stuttered.

“It’s Elias. Can I come in?” He breathed out heavily.

Caleb was confused and irritated -to say the least- as to why Elias had decided to show up a third time to his office, especially when he was _supposed_ to be working. “O- oh sure. One second.” He announced, then pressed a separate button upon his desk to allow him entry. Elias entered his space so quickly that it seemed as if he were pressing against the door, and didn’t even bother to come closer before bending over and panting.

“I- I came as soon as I could.” Elias wheezed, not even bothering to push his hair out of his face.

“I don’t understand.” Caleb knit his brows; whatever the other had to say wasn’t good.

“The guards. The ones outside the Operations Chambers. What’s going on?”

“G- G-...” Caleb started. _Oh no_. “Guards have been deployed?”

“Yes! They stopped me from seeing Armin!” He said with obvious frustration. Caleb refrained from asking why exactly Elias was there instead of working because there was a much larger fish to fry.

“That’s… Definitely a problem.”

“So you’re not behind this?” Elias tried to confirm, panic rising in his voice.

“Elias, I think you need to calm down.” Caleb pressed as he himself started spiraling into an internal panic.

“Calm down?” Castner stared at him as if he were dumb. “The police are stopping the one person allowed to see A.R.M.I.N.. They’re breaking _your_ orders!”

“It’s… not rare for there to be a confusion of jurisdiction.” The Administrator tried to brush off his fears.

“But you’re the Administrator, Caleb!” He whined.

“I’m well aware, Elias.” He shot the teenager a look before averting his gaze out his window. “I’ll, I’ll-... I’ll think of something.”

“Try saying that with a little less enthusiasm.” Elias muttered lowly.

“Elias,” Caleb quipped, then instantly composed himself instantly. “You need to go. I’ll handle this.” He pressed as calmly as he could.

“How? We need to head there _together_ so we can-”

“NOW!” He snapped with exasperation, turning to face him with a ridged poster that towered above Elias with his fists balled at his sides. This shocked Elias into nearly shitting a brick.

“.. Y-Yes sir… I- I’ll be back later.” That being said, he turned to face away from Caleb and quickly escorted himself out, leaving the man standing alone in the middle of the room.

He tried to collect himself, but the splitting migraine in his forehead, the defeated slouch in his back, and the sting in his eyes proved that he wasn’t doing this very effectively.

“Oh God… What the fuck can I do? I- I never thought would actually try to take over… Has… Has Gaius finally done it?” He took a deep calming breath, and straightened his posture again. “No… It- It isn’t over. I can fix this.” Clenching his jaw, Caleb strode out of his office with a shaky -but real- determination to set things right.

The walk to his destination was a long one, included a transport to Ark Rose, and provided plenty of time for Caleb to get nervous and back out, but somehow he still prevailed. Swallowing every nerve down that he could, he charged up to his destination’s door, and stuck his knuckles out to knock. However before his fist could rap against the door, the owner so happened to swing it open, making Caleb nearly responsible for punching him in the face. The man didn’t even flinch.

“I’m afraid you’ve caught me at a bad time, Caleb. I was just leaving.” Gaius said like nothing was wrong, and tried to move past the other man without another word. Caleb puffed his cheeks in frustration.

“No! You’re going to sit there and answer my questions!” He shouted with a stomp of his foot.

“I’d prefer to stand.” Gaius brushed him off with an eye roll.

“You do _not_ have the authority to just completely ignore my instructions regarding the computer!”

“If you’re protesting the GOVCOM’s decision, then you’d best present it at a full meeting. I’m just one man.” The older man was clearly bored.

“Don’t give me that bullshit! You’ve been against me since the very beginning!” Caleb’s face began to turn red with how angry and flustered he was as he shouted.

“The other Consuls were already on board. You’d best put the blame on them. Zachley, perhaps? He’s been getting more radical as time goes by, you know.” He patronized.

“I’m sick and tired of this, Gaius! I won’t have my decisions cut by jealous old men with unlimited terms rabbid with jealousy!” Caleb seethed.

Crossing his arms, Gaius stared at the other dangerously. “Those ‘jealous, old men’ are the people who elected you, if you recall.”

Caleb kept going as if Gaius hadn’t said a word. “Everyone seems to completely disregard everything I do! If the people knew what was happening, they’d surely protest!”

“The people?” He began incredulously. “You’re the one who let the Police freely roam the ship. Your name is a curse between every citizen.”

“I know they still trust me, especially when it comes to stuff!”

“If you’re going to keep repeating yourself over and over,”  I think I’ll go.” He sighed, then began to walk away.

Caleb gasped through his nostrils. “Don’t you dare move! I- I know you had something to do with this, Gaius!” He had managed to avoid stuttering, but the strain rendered him unable to control it.

“And what if I did, Caleb? _What then_?” Gaius pushed with impatience.

“I- I- There’s… I will think of-”

“What would you even be able to do?” Gaius finally lost his temper, and wanted to burn Caleb to the point of him voicing himself again. “You’re worthless. Pathetic. You can’t run a government, Caleb. We knew you couldn’t. That’s _why_ we picked you.” The man growled, and aggressively poked the other square in the chest.

All color draining from his face, Caleb unwillingly let the blow stupefy him. The little self worth he had, built on the foundation that he was intelligent and salutary enough to be elected as the Administrator, was pounded into dust. He was left there stammering in front of Gaius. A thin and greasy smile peeled into Gaius’ face once he was his words were effective, and he put on his hat satisfactorily before maneuvering around Caleb. Almost forgetting, Gaius stopped after a few steps to look over his shoulder back at the quivering young man.

“You might want to do something about that speech impediment, Caleb. It’s getting worse and worse.” He quipped before lumbering away.

“I-...” Effectively dumbfounded, the Administrator turned around, and slowly sulked all the way back to his office.

Without a single care for his surroundings, Elias violently swiped his key card through his door slot, and stormed through his front door. He didn’t care to notice the empty living room as he strode through it.

“God damn it!” He growled through his teeth loudly with frustration. Catching his couch’s arm with his thighs, Elias let the arm serve as a fulcrum so he’d topple face first into the cushions, before caterwauling an extended grunt. To Elias, it was safe to assume that any major issue in his life was the _government’s_ fault, and of course in this case it really the GOVCOM to blame. Emerging quietly from her room with padded footsteps, Celia walked into the room with schoolwork tucked under her arm.

“Elias? What’s the matter?” She said with unease; she rarely saw her brother this enraged.

“Fuck the GOVCOM.” He muttered into the pillows, rendering the sound indiscernible.

“Elias. Look at me.” Celia knew that the only way she could communicate with her brother was to be frank with him. Once he sat up to look at her, Elias’ anger quickly shifted to raw frustration, and he shook slightly as he curled his knees into his chest and grit his teeth. Celia plopped onto the couch next to him and configured her legs to sit indian style. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Elias took a deep breath. “Well at first I was summoned to Caleb’s office so he could personally scold me for showing Armin to you.” He was babbling so quickly that Celia couldn’t say that she told him so. “So when I was released, I was walking to the A.S.O.C. so I could visit and check on Armin before my shift started, and then this monstrous women of a guard stopped me from seeing Armin again so Caleb could talk to me again about something that he couldn’t tell me the last time and there was a new development concerning my occupation. But it’s all good for the meantime, so don’t worry. Anyway, I finally made it to the A.S.O.C. and I talked to Armin about some things and getting some advice, but then these _stupid_ Police guards showed up out of nowhere! They refused to explain why they were there except that no one was allowed in A.R.M.I.N.’s Operations Chambers and they wanted to clear the whole corridor by orders of the GOVCOM! I said that the whole thing was sudden and crazy, but then they physically dragged me out of there and threatened to _kill_ me! _Kill me_! I had no idea what the hell was going on so I ran all the way back to Caleb’s office to ask him what’s going on, and Caleb had no idea they were sent out. It’s painfully obvious that he didn’t allow this and the GOVCOM is completely out of line and disregarding him, and he’s not going to do anything about it!” Elias had tensed into a compact little ball while he was ranting, but then ran out of breath to keep going, and gasped and wheezed for air. “I don’t know what to do!” He barked, pleading with his eyes for Celia to give him the answer.

“Elias! Getting all worried about it isn’t going to help anyone, okay?” Celia urged with her hands defensively in the air.

“He seems powerless to them, Celia! If- if the entire GOVCOM takes over, there will be no chance to save A.R.M.I.N.! They-” He choked. “Celia, they could erase his memory!” Elias balled his hands close to his face.

“Shh, shhh, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” She soothed, and drew closer to him. “Come here. Relax, lil’ guy, come on.” She pulled his torso and head to her chest despite the protests Elias gave through his facial expression. “You have to stop thinking about this.”

“But, Celia…”

“Uh-uh.” She cut him off and started slowly stroking his face, making Elias grumble softly. “Don’t you ‘but Celia’ me. Caleb will know what to do. We have to trust him. Getting worried about things you can’t change is a waste of energy.” The girl reasoned. Even if Elias began to look somewhat calmer, his tranquility was only superficial.

“But we can change it, Celia! We just-!” His voice rapidly increased in volume. Celia merely gripped him closer, making Elias look like a big baby that resisted people but still needed swaddling.

“Elias. Lower your voice.” She ran her fingers through the ends of his hair. “It’s going to be okay.”

This seemed to finally snap Elias into the realization that he was reaching hysteria, and he took a deep breath before settling more comfortably against her, then dipped his chin upward to look at the face looming over him. “Thank you…” But he couldn’t forget the issue at hand. “...What do you think about it?” He asked.

“I think you’re right… But politics is nasty business, Elias. It’d be best for us to wait and see what happens.”

“I just… I don’t know what to do.” Elias felt restless, like he an obligation to help somehow.

“If humans were always certain on how to act, I doubt life would be as interesting as it is.” Celia soothed with a tiny smile. Elias only made a confused noise, and it reminded his sister that he didn’t think in the present like most people. “Let’s think for a sec…” She knew rational thought also helped with calming him down. “There has to be something from history that we can pull out for help.”

Elias instantly visualized some parallels. “Well in the early days, people didn’t care who was on the GOVCOM until their food was cut short.”

“What happened to the people and government?”

Elias’ eyes shot open wide with an epiphany. “Revolution.”

“ _Oh_ …” Celia muttered uncertainly. However, to Elias, this was the perfect solution, and there was one person who was perfect for the job; revolutionary in his own right.

“Celia, I know what I’ve got to do!” He shot up off the couch, nearly breaking his sister’s jaw in the process.  
“Huh?” She asked, bewildered.

“I roughly know what we’ve got to do to save Armin and fix things! It’s enough that I can get help from someone, and I know exactly who to go to!” He shouted, then ran for the door, invigorated with a new burst of energy.

“Wait, Elias-!” She stretched out her hand after him as he ran out the front door.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this covered. Just stay there!” He called without looking back.

“Elias…” She said one more time before looking down into her lap in defeat.  “Don’t do anything stupid…” The living room was quiet once more.


	26. Chaser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally knowing the gene carrier's name, Kyros goes hunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this was fun to write.

Chapter 26 DRAFT

Pressed into a small enclave a few feet from the Jaeger/Ackerman residence, a shadow pulsed with adrenaline while he waited for an opportunity to grab. Not only had the day’s efforts been futile, but the last three months had been as well, so the young man was starving for some action. Perhaps his mission today would have already been over, that is, if his target hadn’t decided to isolate himself _for once_. Knowing that it would be a while before he had a clear shot, Kyros was determined to use his time effectively, so it was most efficient to eliminate every threat that presented itself. Mikasa, a warrior skillful enough that she was worthy of his Commander’s fleet and Eren’s “brother”, was very protective over Eren, so Kyros made sure to neutralize her by cozying up to her. He provided her company at the pool and then practically seduced her in her room just a couple minutes ago. He was certain that the next time he saw her, she would have changed her answer to his inquiry to a “yes”.

Kyros knew that Mikasa would need to board their mission shuttle to Tharsis soon and Eren would probably wait to pack until the last second, so he wouldn’t need to wait much longer. Sure enough, a half minute later Mikasa walked out her residence’s door with a stuffed duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a scowl plastered onto her face. Before the door had a chance to close, the shadow pounced, and he slipped inside the room without a single sound. Settling against a wall in the dark, Kyros knew it was only a matter of time until his prey arrived.

“Shit.” Eren muttered to himself as he sluggishly jogged down the corridors to his room. He knew that he only had a half hour until he left, but his reasoning told him it was a good idea to stall a little bit and try _one more_ training simulation before he packed. Still, Eren couldn’t help but feel elated for the mission he was about to embark on. The recovery mission to Tharsis was dangerous, but he amongst his teammates on Squad Levi would be the first to explore new worlds- to escape the cages they all called the arks. In fact, Commander Erwin felt so confident in their abilities that they were promoted to Ensigns just so he could send them out while they were green. Eren’s own confidence on the matter couldn’t be doused; they were all given the opportunity to back out by Admiral Acacius, but they all stayed in that briefing room. Now all he had to was to pack, lock up, and book it as fast as he could for their shuttle.

“Being late would be the fucking worst.” He muttered to himself as he swiped his key card. Seeing that his lack of restful sleep had created a track record of him being late to briefings, the last thing Eren wanted was in incite Levi’s wrath by being late to a critical mission launch. A swift punch to the center of his gut terminated his thought process. “Arg!” Dazed, he stumbled on his feet while he tried to regain his footing, but once he did so, he looked up to see Kyros standing a yard in front of him with a broad smirk on his face. “What the fuck?” He exclaimed, baffled.

“I think we’ve had enough fun, right, Eren?” Kyros taunted.

Eren began to pant with the panic induced adrenaline coursing through his veins. “Gah.. What?”

“It’s why I’m here.” His tone was cool and calm, yet he was clearly having fun while he did this. While Eren was still shocked, he made a point to sweep kick Eren’s legs from underneath him, sending Eren to the floor. Once he was on the ground, Kyros pinned him there by stepping heavily on his throat.“You think you’re so special, don’t you? The one thing humanity has up its sleeve.” He flourished with a chuckle, making the other bare his teeth. “Don’t be fooled. It’s _nothing_.” Kyros then stopped into Eren’s gut and continued his monologue. “The one question left is what’s the best way to kill you… It’s the one thing I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I learned the carrier’s name.” He gleamed. With a loud flap of his coat, the man swooped down to pick up his prey by the neck again, and began to squeeze. “You’ve been far more difficult than I imagined.” His voice got darker. “But now that I have you, I want to fucking laugh at how _weak_ you are! You’ve been weak since I met you! Since the beginning!”

Eren couldn’t stop flailing and fighting for his breath even if he was emotionally stunned. He _trusted_ Kyros; he was the only friend he had now, and this is what he got for it? Suddenly Kyros threw his against him against the door, physically stunning him as well. He gasped and coughed for breath like a dying fish once he slumped to the floor again.

“You humans are pathetic,” Kyros spat acrimoniously, taking out his disgust with another kick to Eren’s stomach. “disgusting, and so fucking helpless.” He punctuated every single word with another kick to his ribs or gut, sending noises that would make someone nauseous hurdling into the air. Once he had gotten his fill taking his frustrations out, Kyros then picked the other right back up by his collar, starring Eren in the eyes while he grit his teeth some more and some bloody drool leaked from his pathetic mouth. The look on the teen’s face had some seductive qualities to it, making Kyros lean his face in until he was inches away from Eren, smiling. “Unfortunately for you, Eren, I don’t like to eat my prey raw.” He decided to elaborate: “I will cut you apart until you are _begging_ me for mercy. But even then, I’ll say nothing. I don’t spare a living soul.”

To Eren, this was the last straw, and he snapped out of his submissive and fearful mental gridlock. “I will never beg you for anything!” The teen growled fiercely.

“You’ll come around in time.” Kyros leaned even closer. “We both know it.”

Leaning his head back away from the other, Eren gulped for more air. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Because the others are failures.”

“You won’t be any different!” He shouted while clawing his dull nails into Kyros’ hands.

“I know everything about you, Eren.” He rubbed in. “Your strengths, your _weaknesses_. I even had the chance to visit your sister. I practically had her eating out of the palm of my hand.” He swatted away one of the teen’s hands to emphasize his words and pressed him up against the door, tracing Eren’s jaw line with a single finger.

“I WILL FUCKING BREAK YOU!” Eren snarled, lashing out against his attacker by bringing his knees to his chest and kicking the wind out of Kyros’ lungs.

Despite the fact the shadow stumbled backwards, he seemed unaffected by the attack. “Oh, you’re excited too, aren’t you..?” He chuckled darkly before his face went through an appalling transformation: his irises shifted and swirled into an intimidating scarlet, and deep plum scar lines etched into his face like burn marks. The breaths he took became deeper in tone and raspier. “ _I know I am_.”

Eren scrambled back onto his feet when Kyros pulled a gleaming militia knife out of its sheath. Unable to think clearly anymore with the adrenaline being the only thing keeping him going, Eren charged his attacked with as much force as he could muster, only to have the other duck right below his outstretched arms. However, Eren was ready for that much -having earned high ranks on his hand to hand combat training- and elbowed Kyros between the shoulder blades while he was leaning over and out of balance, sending him to the floor with a thud on his shoulder. The young man returned the strike by craftily hooking his leg around the other’s ankle, and tried to get Eren’s approaching face with two broad swipes of his knife. Eren pulled several fragile objects from his desk while trying to stop himself from falling forward. On the way down, he was fortunate enough to pin Kyros’ wrist away from him, sending his knife sliding across the floor, but Kyros took Eren’s spread arms as a clear shot, heaved their weight over until Eren was pinned below him, and grabbed the teen by the neck to slam his head against the floor. The two snarled and growled fiercely as they fought for their lives. With his arms free, Eren landed two whole square punches to Kyros’ face before he squeezed his neck with killer force, sending his vision white. Eren landed another two blind punches before he began to feel hazy. Neck burning with a cold fire, Eren gouged his attacker’s eyes with his thumbs, making him reel enough for Eren to throw Kyros off of him straight into the hard underside of a table.

Feeling life life flow back into him with a long gasp, Eren flew onto his knees then feet and out of his room without looking behind him.

“I have to get to a crowded area.” He muttered to himself in his delirious panic, and turned the corner of the corridor.

Head swirling with visions of thick blizzards, Kyros grappled onto the thin thread of consciousness he had left and pulled himself back into a clear reality; just in time to see Eren barrel out the door. The hunter immediately tried to stand upright out of the slumped position he found himself in, but his line of sight turned at sharp angles, forcing him to lean up against the wall. Damn it, his head must have collided first. The man, who had been in this situation before many times, even in his childhood, knew how to hang on and force himself into a lucid mindset. He felt a thick patch of warmth spread over his scalp and nape, and a quick wipe to his neck quickly confirmed his suspicion that it was blood. He huffed loudly with frustration; his target would get away at this rate, and he would fail. Failure wasn’t an option.

Kyros knew it was dangerous, but the situational advantages on of his tricks provided him would give him a superior edge. His eyes flickered to a bright gleam on the floor, and he scooped his knife back into its sheath. Without another thought, he reached into the inner pocket of his coat to pull a small device out. An eerie red glow shone onto his complexion as he typed in the nearby coordinates. With the press of a key, a bright collection of golden orbs swirled around him with a loud whir of energy. His corporeal form shifted into a flurry of particles, then whisked away at the speed of light.

The hunter’s form shifted back into a solid as quickly as he had left inside the 104th’s transport ship. Breathing heavily, Kyros pressed his back against the wall with his minute or so of rest before Eren would surely come barreling in there. His eyes darted around the window, and his own reflection caught him; his face was back to normal. Half of his strength was gone and he was sure he was concussed. When he picked up a distant noise, Kyros grabbed for his blade to be at the ready. The wait was almost agonizing even if the pounding in his head wouldn’t cease.

When the door finally slid open, time slowed down to an almost standstill for the madman; this was his final stand with decent odds. Just another second… Kyros could imagine the fear that was lodged on Eren’s face and in his throat when he despaired “It’s empty?!” into the silent vessel. However the millisecond the door sealed in its latch, Kyros’ own pride and frustration threw him out into the opening, striding furiously towards his target.

“You think you can fucking run from fate, Eren?” He roared.

The teen, on the brink of collapse from exhaust and nerve-wracking fear, froze in place as Kyros approached him. He couldn’t believe it. “H- How the fuck did you get in here so quickly?” Eren stumbled over his words, his emotions quickly deteriorating. The shadow drew closer yet Eren’s feet refused to unlock. “K- Kyros-” Completely rigid, he was violently slammed against the wall once more and his neck was put under splitting strain, immobilizing him further.

“You’re going to _die_ , Eren. Give me the honors.” His voice rasped. Filled with mania, Kyros unsheathed his knife one last time, but this time he didn’t take the time to soak in the moment, and lunged his knife right for the top of Eren’s throat.

As if graced by the cosmos itself, the door loudly hissed open to reveal Mikasa walking back inside the vessel empty handed; she had already dropped off her things inside. The shadow reacted faster than a praymantis, and before Eren could even squeeze his eyes shut one more time, he was dropped onto his feet. Ripping his eyes back open, he saw that his attacker was a good five feet from him and the blade was nowhere to be seen.

“Kyros…” She squinted. “I didn’t know you were on the mission roster.”

“He’s not.” Levi interrupted from behind the both of them as he boarded the ship as well. One both black haired men made eye contact, the Lieutenant gave him a look that screamed _Quit putzing around and get the fuck off my ship_.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Connie shouted at Sasha, who was dragging him onto the ship behind her.

“That’s what you get for joking about being purposely late, dummy.” She chided in a light tone. Eren made a confused and horrified grunt; they were completely oblivious to what just happened.

“Let’s get everyone on board.” Mikasa commanded.

Seeing Mikasa there finally clicked in her brother’s over-worked mind, and he jerked towards her with tears in his eyes from the stress. “T- Thank you so much for coming, Mikasa… Thank you so much…” He clung to the lapels of her suit.

“Of course, Eren…” She said gently, pulling him closer by pushing against his back, then snapped to look at Kyros. “What exactly _are_ you doing here, Kyros?” She spat.

Controlling his labored breathing, he shrugged casually. “I was just giving Eren my farewells before he leaves on his mission. Isn’t that right, _Eren_?”

Eren just pressed closer to Mikasa.

“Oh come now,” he walked closer with a gentle chuckle “there’s no need to be nervous!” Kyros gave him a light and playful punch to his shoulder. “Well in any case, I hope everything goes well!” Without another word, the man meandered out of the vessel, and was gone without a trace.

Sensing that the immediate danger was gone, Eren’s mind finally unlocked, releasing raw anxiety and the need for comfort.

“Mikasa! I- He- He was trying to kill me and- I had to run here the entire way and the- fucking hell- he almost-” Eren sputtered, rapidly losing all the composure in his system.

“Shh, Shh, Shh-” Mikasa comforted while trying to slow him down; there was too much for her to process at once. “Eren hold on a second.” However, she finally spotted the large welt on his face. “Is- Is that a bruise on your cheek?” She gently cupped his face and leaned back to get a better look at him. What she didn’t see were the abrasions and tender fist sized bruises that coated everywhere his suit and hair kept clandestine.

“He- He- He- It was- K- Kyros!” His breath repeatedly spasmed.

Another party member bounded into the ship without warning. “Let’s get this operation movin’!” Hanji cheered with a pump of her fist. The two siblings seemed to be in a bubble that made them invisible to everyone else onboard.

“Close the shuttle doors.” The captain ordered with irritation and his arms crossed.

“Closing doors!” Hanji practically sang, then pulled the appropriate lever with a nudge to Levi’s side.

“I’m safe now…” Eren gasped, ignoring everyone else around him, just like they were. “It’s okay… He didn’t kill me…”

“Shh, shh. Just ease yourself down, okay?” Mikasa pulled him close again.

This was enough to catch Jean’s attention.

“Tch. What the fuck is his deal?” Kirschstein spat while he passed by the two. However, his grumbling was soon overwhelmed by the roar of the engines starting up.

Without warning, the vessel lurched forward and blasted off on their adventure, but no one seemed to notice or care.

“It- It- It-” Eren stammered again.

“Are you alright, Jaeger?” Levi finally addressed him over his shoulder.

“Y- Yeah. I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize. Just spit it out already.”

“Kyros… He tried to kill me.” He said, looking at the floor.

This seemed to _finally_ grab everyone’s attention, and they all turned to face the “bubble”.

“What?” His sister snapped.

“I always knew there was something wrong with that prick!” Jean growled through his teeth.

“He attacked me in my own room, and he kept using strange words… I think he might be like Annie.”

“Another gene carrier?” Hanji dropped the bag she was holding in shock.

“Can it, Hanji.” He snapped. “This is something that needs to be reported to the Admiral _right now_.”

After the conversation’s subject drifted away from him, Eren seemed to shut down completely on the inside- like he was numb. There were words being spoken about him recording a message that would be encoded for Acacius’ ears only, but he didn’t process any of it. He just continued to cling to his sister until she eventually got his attention again because the equipment was ready. Eren recited what he knew into the microphone with a near emotionless voice, and once Levi cut in with additional information, he walked away with his eyes averted from everyone. He climbed up to the upper deck where their sleeping quarters were, and curled up in the corner of the room against a AC duct cover.

Eventually the adrenaline flushed from his systems enough that he could close his eyes, but sleep never came.


	27. His Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias will stop at nothing to make sure the GOVCOM can never harm anyone again. Subsequently, the plan could include freeing Armin sooner than anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are getting longer as the final arc of the story comes closer to an end...

Chapter 27 DRAFT

Elias was incredibly lucky he had somewhat of a name and credentials amongst the commanding ranks of the arks; perhaps when he undoubtedly had to deal with annoying officials, he would actually get somewhere with them. He knew it was practically impossible for him to sprint anywhere else today, so locating his destination would have to be at a walking pace for the meantime. Of course, there was also tracking the right person down. It would have been more convenient for Elias to walk to Acacius’ office, but he knew that not only was she busy all the time, but there was a low likelihood of her going along with what he suggested without Caleb’s intervention and backup. This was why he was going to hunt down the next best thing: a revolutionary only a single rank below Admiral.

Time passed at a dull speed; his target seemed to be moving everywhere with meetings, and every person or official he asked told him to get lost or send him to a room that was empty by the time he got there. Muttering to himself, Elias was getting cranky with the wild goose chase and the fact his feet were beyond sore. He had been having a _long_ day, and it was getting close to 21 hundred hours. Before going any farther, he took a break and rested by a drinking fountain. He couldn’t give up so easily, right? Armin was at stake, and the GOVCOM was going rogue.

Some sore feet and his goddamn _bed time_ wasn’t going to stop him. If he couldn’t find who he was looking for, he’d try to convince Acacius, and if not her, he’d try someone else. He’d find someone. In fact… If Elias was correct about what part of the ark he was on, he should be close to Acacius’ office now. Getting up from his spot on the floor, Castner didn’t have to worry about her being out for the day already, because he had heard rumors that she worked long into the night on a daily basis.

Elias also seemed to be incredibly blessed by fate, because about five hundred meters from her office, he caught a chiseled looking man turn the corner to start walking behind him through a reflection on the wall. A quick glance behind him confirmed it: he had bright blue eyes, professionally trimmed hair, a serious and erudite expression, and a buff, war trialed body. The records he had filed along with its pictures were accurate, and the rumors he had heard people joke about were true. He was gorgeous. Everyone -including Elias, now- agreed the man was handsome. Hell, even _Dev_ with his girl ogling personality thought so. These unprofessional thoughts were quickly stamped out of Elais’ brain when he realized he had spent a whole five seconds on that negligible tangent. He spun around on his heel to waddle up to him, stopping him in the man in his tracks.

“Commander Erwin, sir!” He wheezed “My name is Elias Castner, and I have been looking for you!”

Erwin, towering above Elias, looked down at the teen with a stone cold gaze, the same shade of azure making contact with each other. “Elias, I have been called to a priority meeting with those who outrank me, so I have no time to stop and discuss things.” He said gravely. The teen’s heart sunk. “But if you can make it quick, I’ll see what I can do.” The man explained with a brighter tone. “Please, walk with me. It’s not very often that a Civilian of your age has the urgency to come and _find_ me.”

Seeing that the Commander had already started walking, Elias gasped and started up to make pace with his his huge strides. “Th- Thank you, sir! I’ll make this quick.”

The other nodded while looking ahead.

“I have had connections with the Administrator since the A.R.M.I.N. incident, and due to my involvement in that area, I’ve been given access to his Operations Chambers since then. Right after being summoned by Administrator Caleb to discuss some matters I could get to later, I went to visit A.R.M.I.N.. Shortly after I got there, some PC guards on _the behalf of the GOVCOM_ kicked me out. I went to the Administrator immediately to see what happened, and essentially he hadn't authorized their movement! He started to panic and kicked me out of his office, so I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing I am: the GOVCOM is attempting a power grab. I wanted to go to the Admiral but she’s busy, so since I’m not going to just let this happen, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Erwin’s expression contorted into a less stoic and more energy ridden one. When Elias looked at him again, he saw the man’s pupils dilated with some form of tangible rage, internally concealed and only showing through those two spots.

“Your story, as concerning as that is alone, aligns with the fact I’m being pulled into Acacius’ office right now.” He said with his jaw tense.

“You’re going to see the Admiral? Could I please come with you?”  Elias jumped on what he said with his fists brought up to his chest.

“Perhaps-”

“I have the full story and the details she might want to refer to!” Castner added gracelessly.

“I was going to grant you permission, given that I know you’ve interacted with her and was helpful regarding A.R.M.I.N.’s outburst, even if you added to the overall problem we have on our hands now.”

Elias stared at Erwin with apprehensiveness,  and swallowed.

“You don’t think that I don’t know how that happened?” The commander said with an amused grin despite the circumstances. “I keep myself informed on everything that could affect humanity’s safety if I can.” He looked back in front of him.

“Oh…” Elias shoved his hands into his pockets, processing just how _heroic_ this guy seemed.

“The Admiral will undoubtedly question me why I’ve brought a civilian with me, but a witness willing to help is just as important as anyone else.” He explained, unaware of the dorky smile that flashed on the teenager. “Elias, you work in Records, correct?”

“Did you read that about me?” He blinked at Erwin’s afterthought.

“No, just a guess. You’re politically aware for someone who doesn’t work for the Corp. or the Coordinates, and seem like a bright young man that heavily relies on intuition to figure out what’s happening in the present, so you have to know history extensively.”

“Yeah… I am. I just want to help anyway, though.” He elucidated.

“Well I’m not going to stop you. You have my respect for standing up to those who are.” Before Elias could bat an eye or squeal, Erwin pointed to a turn in the corridors. “We’re here. When we get inside, I’ll explain why you’re here and the short version of your story, but you’ll have to wait until she asks for you to explain further.”

Walking up to the door of Acacius’ office, Elias only nodded in response and shuffled to wait behind Erwin. The man, after taking a slow and calming breath, firmly knocked. He seemed to radiate professionalism in everything he did.

“Just get in here.” The intercom barked. The Admiral sounded exasperated enough to bite someone’s head off even through the speaker. Hissing loudly, the door slid open to let light spill into the dimmer, darker blue room. The two blondes, one striding and the other shuffling, entered the space without a word until they were standing in front of her desk, and saluted.

“Erwin, why the hell did you bring a runt with you?” She inquired biliously. “Wait,” she gestured for them not to talk and put her other hand to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut and pursing her brows and lips in frustration. “Isn’t he that kid that messed with Armin’s self awareness? What the fuck did he do this time?”

“Admiral I assure you he did nothing wrong. In fact, Elias is here to help us.” The two adults looked each other square in the eye while Erwin clapped a hand to Elias’ shoulder.

“Yeah, well he helped us the last time!” She countered, then crossed her arms. “Just take a seat.”

They did as they were told.

“So why is he here?”

“Elias was in The Ark Sina Operations chamber with Caleb’s permission, and the GOVCOM’s PC unit commandeered the entire corridor A.R.M.I.N.’s in, effectively isolating anyone but those in the council from having a say. He actually visited Caleb, and it turns out he didn’t give the orders. We can surmise the Council is attempting a power grab.” He explained sternly.

“You’re shitting me.” She face palmed; Acacius was very animated when she was upset.

“I do not kid about these matters.” Erwin narrowed his eyes.

“Well that’s just flipping fantastic, because I called you here to ask for your advice, since Caleb is being useless right now.”

Elias just sat there uncomfortably with his eyes wide open, watching the conversation go back and forth like a tennis match.

“And that would be..?” The man lace his fingers together on the edge of her desk, and braced for one of Acacius’ infamous tyrades.

“I was getting ready to proceed with standard questioning on traitors Cadets Braun and Fubar, when the PCs had the audacity to pull a countermand on my authority, and confiscated my subjects!” She slammed her fist onto the table. “I asked on whose authority they were acting upon, and all the they told me was it was out of my jurisdiction! Even after I sent Kabir out to contact Caleb and let me talk some _sense_ into him, he told me that he would think of a solution. It’s been a couple hours and the Administrator hasn’t contacted me back! How am I supposed to do something when my authority won’t clear me?” Acacius seethed.

“There’s a conflict between the higher-ups, Admiral.” Erwin surmised, still calm. “It’s not something we can help this instant.”

“I refuse to believe that, Erwin. The whole situation is fucked up! Where do they get the gall to treat me like some lowly cadet?” She shouted and waved to the air around her then pointed to her chest.

“So it’s not just security with A.R.M.I.N….” Elias muttered quietly, not really concerned with whether the adults heard him or not for the moment.

Erwin’s brows were scrunched in thought. “If we make a move, we could be implicated directly.” He began, making Acacius shoot a look at him. “I’m not saying we should stay out completely. Our intervention just has to be more strategic with these matters. Going in guns ablazing is too rash.”

“Well, I’m a rash person!” She barked.

“With police blocking access, we can’t maneuver anyone for the conduit transfer, either. The arks are left prisoner to politics.”

“And what a perfect bunch we are! Two officers and a genius runt.” Swiveling her chair around to face away from them in frustration, Acacius huffed through her nose while trying to find something that could give them justification for taking immediate action. Interrupting her train of thought, her communique signal went off on her computer. She turned over her shoulder to find the source of the noise.

“Is that on you?” She asked Elias with an arched brow.

“It’s probably an external communication, Admiral.” Elias clarified since he recognized the tone.

Sighing, she gave no regard for the people in the room, and swept back around to slam the space key upon her board with more gusto than needed. The three leaned in to listen to the static filled message.

“Admiral- this is Ensign Jaeger. The Lieutenant calling himself Kyros… He’s an enemy just like Annie, perhaps a gene carrier like me. He’s dangerous- he tried to kill me.”

“If he managed to get onboard,” Levi cut the messenger off. “he may have access to ship computers. Tread carefully.”

The message then abruptly ended, leaving the room in silence for a short moment.

“Good God.” The Admiral finally broke in, already opening a file to send to her task forces.

“Wait. Before you contact the police, let’s take a step back.” Erwin offered.

“A step back?” She growled.

“We have an enemy aboard the arks, and a powerful one at that.”

“Then we need to capture him and keep him quarantined.” Elias pipped in.

“With the political situation as it is… I doubt that if we capture him, I’ll have a say in happens to him.” Her mouth scrunched.

“Even if we did, it’s not a good idea to leave that to chance.” The woman and the teen could see Erwin’s pupils constrict.

“You have a plan, don’t you?” Acacius asked tinged with weariness and hope.

“We already know that there’re people with the gene on the ship, and that it’s most likely that Annie’s death was a way to prevent her from talking.” He continued.

“But the other two are already captive, like Annie was.” Her eyes widened.

“Kyros probably knows, which means he’s in hiding, waiting for another opportunity. We need to draw him out.”

“I’m waiting for the part where we cut his fucking head off.” Acacius barked at him.

“Admiral.” Erwin shushed her. “If we just kill him, no questions asked, we’ll learn nothing. Aren’t you curious about what their motives are? Where they come from?”

“We can just ask the two we have.” She retorted.

“This one’s different. The other two just gave themselves up, but Kyros has been killing left and right, and…” Erwin corrected.

“He likes to play games with his victims.” Elias finished definitively with a bitter sneer.

“What?” She said tiredly.

“He’s right, Admiral. Eren wasn’t killed, but we know he’s capable of being faster than he acted.”

“If- If what you’re saying is right, then how do we draw him out for interrogation?” Acacius crossed her arms, begrudgingly going alone with their scheming.

“We play his game, but with better pieces.” Erwin replied matter-of-factly. If Kyros liked to play with people’s heads, there was one person for the job.

“You… You mean me.” Elias said slowly, astonished.

“For now, yes.” Erwin realized that as decent a mind reader Elias was, there was someone else that would simultaneously lift three roadblocks. “But if Kyros is the type of person I think he is, he may be only intrigued by special things.” The Commander was ready to bet everything on one crucial factor.

Taking slight offence, Elias puffed his cheeks, but then what Erwin was implying dawned upon him, and the atmosphere sparked alive with energy. “You don’t mean-”

“Armin Arlert, the most intelligent human in existence, will be our spy.”

Bouncing in his seat, Elias swallowed a squeal.

“Yeah that’s great and all, but you’re forgetting something, _Erwin_.”

“What would that be?” He raised a brow at her tone.

“Armin is fucking human popsicle and blocked off from us using him, Sherlock!” Her frustration reached a point of her lashing out at everyone.

“I assure you I did not forget that aspect. I just wanted to ask you if you had anymore questions for Elias here before we dismissed him. We can go over the details once he’s left.”

Acacius made a noise similar to an annoyed yak. “No, I’ve got the picture.” She faced Elias with a mitigated expression. “Thank you for your time and efforts. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir. Good luck.” He said, standing up then taking his leave. However before he disappeared completely, Acacius stood up.

“And Elias!”

His head popped back in the door frame. “Yes sir?”

“Keep your ass out of trouble!” She demanded wearily.

“Yes sir.” He strode out of there with a quicker pace than before.

Once the door had fully shut, the two adults slid their chairs closer together until they bumped at the knees and leaned their faces in closer proximity with determined looks on them. They had no time to lose.

“Now how exactly do you propose we allow Armin out and do something about this shitty power contingency?” The Admiral began.

“It all begins with correcting one flawed aspect: we need stear Caleb into finding his own voice. If we do that, the problems with the government will absolve, thus allowing us to capture Kyros and release Armin without interference. Once that is done, we can interrogate him with Armin in person, along with the bonus of the system no longer being dragged down by the Committee’s filters. Overall, the arks become a better and safer place for everyone.”

“Yeah good luck with that.” She scoffed.

“Helena.” He pressed. “We’ve both worked with that man for months now. I see a latent ability -a potential- for him to be a great leader of the masses. Haven’t you?”

Helena sighed in thought. “I suppose… once or twice. He definitely wants change, but he’s too scared to go after it.”

“We need to go talk to him then, because one way or another, we need to put the GOVCOM back in its intended place.” He suggested stoically.

“Agreed.”

“Then we have no time to lose.” They both stood up and brushed themselves off.

“Just a sec. I’ll need to keep a third person posted on our progress, seeing a fugitive and psychopath is still at large.” She turned to face the other door in her office which was parallel to her desk. “KABIR!” Acacius barked without warning, and picked up a clipboard from her desk to throw it full force at the door, earning a loud clang and an annoyed, muffled grunt.

“ _What_?”

“Keep on your toes, dipshit. I’m going out and I might report to you with instructions at any moment. Also, send Caleb a transcript of the conversation we just had to him; we’re coming over.” She ordered while slipping her outer-jacket back on.

“ _Yes_ , sir.” Kabir huffed.

“Right,” she huffed, then strode over to the door and held it open for Erwin. “let’s go.”

A short transport to Caleb’s office was spent in relative silence. Without hesitating a second, both leaders reached out to knock on the Administrator’s door simultaneously, much to their chagrin. Looking up at the other with a scrunched nose and elbowing Erwin in the ribs, Acacius pressed the side of her face to the cold metal when no one answered.

“Caleb, we-”

“Go away! I- I _am_ working on a way to draft a bipartisan agreement as we speak, so don’t bother me with your lobbying!” He tried to shout, but couldn’t manage. “How do you people even find out what’s going on this quickly anyway?” Caleb sounded like he was about to physically melt thanks to the strain he felt.

“Caleb! For God’s sake, it’s Acacius. I know you’re having a hard time, but you need to open the door so we can talk!” She knocked again with more force than necessary.

“W- Who else is with you? You said ‘we’...” Caleb muttered more softly.

“It’s Commander Smith, sir.” Erwin clarified. “There are some life or death matters that we need to discuss, and they can all be solved with one key event pertaining to the issues you face now. We’re here to help you.”

“I’ll… I’ll see what I can do… Come in.” Caleb wavered in defeat.

The door slid open, and the two officers strode inside to find Caleb hunched over, caught mid-pace in the center of the room. The office, with record and manual papers splayed all over the desk and floor, complimented its owner’s dowdy state of mind. Snapping to look over at his guests with red rimmed eyes, Caleb bit his lip, scanning over their faces as if they held all the answers. A few seconds passed with everyone merely staring at each other.

“What are we going to do?” The ginger finally burst frantically.

“That’s a great question, Caleb! What are you going to do?” She retorted harshly without thought. Erwin just looked at her with an upset and confused expression, almost asking her _“You think that’s going to help?”_.

“Y- You can’t just put this all on me!” He cried, running a hand through his already mussed up hair.

“There’s no one else who can confront the Committee, Administrator.” Erwin tried to persuade.

“They just want power, Caleb.” Acacius added in. “If you let those assholes have it, I doubt things will remain stable for long.” She crossed her arms.

“Committees with power can easily destroy themselves. We have to prevent that from happening, for the arks, if anything.” The man was confident in his words, puffing his chest like a proud eagle.

“But I’m just one guy!” Caleb argued.

“You’re hardly an average person.” Smith countered; he was ready for that argument since he walked in the door.

“How am I supposed to move the police so you can interrogate the cadets, Admiral? Erwin- How am I supposed to stop the Committee when they ignore everything I say?” The Administrator began to pace about the office again.

“All power is an illusion, Caleb. Why do people listen to those they disagree with? It’s because they often feel fear towards those who are speaking.”

“Exactly! I’m the least respectable or intimidating ‘leader’ these arks have seen!”

“Listen to the Commander.” Acacius soothed in her own gruff manner.

“But-”

“Please.” She insisted, and rested her cheek upon a hand in thought.

The shortest man took a deep breath, fearing what convincing Acacius would force upon him. “Alright.”

“In order to remove that fear, to undercut the Committee’s control of the arks, we must outmaneuver them with the most important group that there is: the people.” Erwin elucidated with pride.

“Gaius told me they’re turning against me too!” He whined.

“That’s because they’re misinformed; people often don’t listen to what’s wisest or rational, but what resonates the loudest in their hearts. You need to remind them that their safety is your utmost concern.”

“How would I do that?” Caleb slammed his fists to his sides.

“Be honest with them.”

With a tiny gasp, Caleb’s eyes lit up. For the longest time, he had to suppress every passionate thought he had thanks to the fear of being mocked by men who knew what they were doing, but then Caleb realized: _he_ knew what he was doing too, and he had plenty of passionate ideas. He’d just have to let them loose.

Completely incapable of doing anything, Armin’s conscious stewed with frustration while his cameras glared at the lone police officer in the A.S.O.C.. No one may have been telling him what was going on _directly_ , but the communication networks flinging live vocal messaging much akin to old Earth walkie talkies gave him a good idea. Who gave the Committee the _right_ to just kick the only person capable of visiting him out with such brutality? Who gave them the right to abuse his presence like he was some powerful unliving tool that could be edited to their advantage? Who gave them the right to wipe every _lucid tie he had to those he loved in the past_?

If Armin were capable of moving, he’d be grinding his teeth to until they bled. The very system Armin gave his life for in order that they would let him guide their way had betrayed him in the deepest way: he was being used to hurt people without his knowledge. Armin, who had as deep of a sense of justice as Erwin or Elias, wanted desperately to be able to _do something_ about it, but he was rendered inert with no way to communicate with someone that would help him. The whole situation seemed hopeless, so Armin continued to stew, hoping that some opportunity would present itself.

“Citizens of Ark Rose and Sina.” The officer’s communicator suddenly announced. Making sure the PC wouldn’t leave the room, Armin swallowed the startled screech that nearly left his speaker.

“Oh hell no.” The guard muttered to himself. A light commotion spread amongst the guards outside.

“As your Administrator, it is my solemn duty to ensure you remain safe and protected on our journey. For this to happen, it is imperative our leadership remains functional. Unfortunately, the members of the Governance Committee have forgotten that obligation.”

Even if Armin personally thought the GOVCOM had forgotten that long ago, he still could barely contain his excitement for someone with the reigns of power to finally address the issue. What was concerning, though, was the small uproar over the other communication networks the guards had open, telling them orders to quell anything that could arise.

“They continue to take my lawful power away, and with each action, they jeopardize everything.” Caleb pressed. “If you believe in our mission, I implore you as your Administrator: keep true to humanity! _Tell them what you think_.” and with that, the message abruptly cut off.

That was it. That was the miracle and window of opportunity that Armin longed for. What Caleb had done was absolutely perfect, and the conduit system and government system could finally be reverted! What would certainly stand in the way from things finally going back to normal was the system that was still in place. Armin, who didn’t have any doubt about it in the first place, heard the orders blasting over the communications to spread the quarantine to the entire deck, including the board room, and arrest the Administrator for treason. Taking an inaudible gasp, the conscious knew he could not let that happen.

Thinking on the fly, Armin quickly reasoned that he’d need to clear the entire deck of guards, giving the people access to the board room. Then they could riot and do whatever they pleased with those dictators. But how? He had no influence over anything except his words. Suddenly, Armin had an idea, and if he could move, a scary and dangerous grin would have bloomed on his face. His words were what relied on most, anyway.

After waiting a few seconds to let the stationed guard settle down again, Armin rapidly cranked the volume on his speaker, causing enough feedback to make a static filled high pitched whine, making the guard jump and another stationed right outside to jump. The men and women outside squabbles as to who would go in and investigate.

“H- Hello?” The second guard who lost a quick round of rock-paper-scissors called.

“Help! Help!” Armin yelped in anguish. “Officer, I’m- I’m experiencing a short circuit of my systems!”

“Wait, are you-”

“You need to clear the area! If it malfunctions any further, the chemicals that keep my body preserved could enter the ventilation system! You need to get your men out of here! Clear the whole deck!” He cried while he internally cussed himself out for throwing together such a shaky story.

This shocked the guard. “We need some engineers then!”

“No!” Armin cut him off. “There’s no time! Evacuate.”

“Right!” He stammered, then quickly dashed out of the room to alert his comrades. There was no one on this deck save the Administrator, who they were going to arrest anyway, and the Committee, who were stashed away in a protected room which kept them safe from nearly every form of assassination attempt conceivable. Only officials could get in.

Knowing that he had done everything he could have, Armin let a devious chuckle slip as the lack of biosignature in the room pulled him back into mental hibernation.

“The news flooded fast, and I’m getting word from section leaders that the people are protesting everywhere. Most are focusing their attention on assembly areas.” Acacius reported a few short moments of anxious hand wringing later.

Jumping slightly from Erwin’s hand clapping his shoulder, Caleb beamed brightly with the fact that something he did was actually working.

“They want to be heard, Caleb.” Erwin affirmed.

“If this is right,” the woman interrupted before any revelry could begin, “there’s no better chance to make our move, as long as the Police don’t give us too much trouble.”

“Caleb, is there a code that controls access to the intercom system?” Erwin supplied as the idea popped into his head.

“I guess. Why?”

“Write it out for me. We could use it to track Kyros when this is all over.” His jaw clenched.

“Alright.” The Administrator said hastily as he ran over to his desk to scribble out the code on a piece of scrap paper before handing it to Erwin, which was then pocketed. The three of them didn’t lay waste to another second, and headed out the door together, only to be greeted by the ensign that got the warrant first, making the group go stiff.

“Admiral, I’ll need you to step aside. I have orders to arrest the Administrator.” The young man cut.

“Ensign, if you wanna keep that big mouth of yours, you’d best get the fuck out of my way.” Acacius snarled.

“I’m not to leave without him, Admiral.” He pressed, balling his fists at his sides.

“I don’t have time for this.” She sighed and poked his chest.

“Frankly, _Ma’am_ , you don’t get to boss me around anymore.” He rubbed in, eliciting a fiery rage in his officer’s expression.

“Excuse me?” She barked.

“I said,-” He began again, only to be cut off by Acacius losing her patience and roundhouse kicking him in the jaw. He slumped to the floor where he stood unconscious.

Watching the woman take a calming breath, Erwin eyed her dangerously. “Helena…”

“Are we going or not?” She interrupted before she could be lectured by someone that was a rank lower than her.

Still staring at the guy on the ground, Caleb swallowed. “Yeah.” 

A relatively short transport and jog later, the three of them stood at the doors to the Committee with the two officers standing watch for hostiles and the other grabbing at his knees, quietly gasping for air. Caleb, who had been rather scrawny his whole life, was not built for running a good two kilometers to the transporters then their destination on Ark Sina.

“Why did I ever sign that bill that put a ban on segways?” The Administrator silently puffed. Regaining his breath, he stood up back into a straight posture, and joined the other two in looking around perplexedly. “Didn’t they protect themselves with the Police?” He wondered aloud.

“That’s what we all suspected.” Acacius replied, looking at the ceiling and puffing a stray strand of hair out of her face.

“It’s doubtful they left on their own, and the Committee wouldn;t relinquish their security so easily… I think we were helped by a trick of sorts.”

“A trick?” Caleb arched a brow.

Seeing some people approach from down the hall, Acacius nudged Caleb’s ribs. “Later, Administrator. There’s some people you need to talk to first.”

This made Caleb turn around to look, and upon seeing the two burly Civilian Officials, swallowed heavily.

“We were waiting a meeting with the Committee, but this will do as well.” The first said condescendingly.

“Care to explain, Caleb?” The second sneered. “You’ve turned the people against the very order that’s existed for a thousand years. You’ve lit a spark that will be impossible to extinguish.”

“I-” Caleb gulped.

“Just be honest with them.” Erwin encouraged.

“L- Look… I know you may not like me… and the Committee selected me because I was a _pushover_ …” He strained, balling his fists at his sides, but then his points boiled inside until his jaw clenched, making Acacius in the background widen her eyes. “But it’s become _too much_!” He punctuated. “Don’t you understand how dangerous for those who have supposedly left power to claim it back again? You talk about security… But what’s left to be secure if the people lose faith in their leaders? Yes, I may have lit a spark,” Caleb gesticulated with spread hands traveling in swoops through the air that flittered to his chest every few seconds. “but if it’s anything, it’s the ignition of a missing part of the human spirit! We’ve been toiling for a thousand years to see the new world! I may not be a perfect leader, but I damn well know what these people need”

“And what exactly would that be?” The first spat. Everyone in the hallway just stared at him expectantly.

“Hope.” He finished his passionate tirade. “Now, Gentlemen, I have a meeting with the Committee.” He stated firmly with a small smile on his lips thanks to the open and slack jaws all around him, and began to walk forward. The two Officials parted to make way for him.

Following Caleb, who was swing the double doors at full force, Erwin and Acacius eyed each other then stared at the back of their newly awoken leader.

Seeing the Administrator waltz into their meeting room, instead of freaking out in a mass uproar, the Committee members took turns making snide comments about Caleb’s presence. The Administrator paced to the head of the meeting table, his index finger pointing accusingly towards Gaius’ square face.

“This is over, Gaius. For you and the rest of the damn Committee.” He announced, still fretful but his chest centered and his head held high.

Jaw cradled in his fist, Gaius looked at him with semi drooped eyes taught lips. “Oh, is it? I guess I’ll just crawl back home. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“No more games. If you want to avoid the purging of this Committee, you’ll stop your efforts to strip me of power immediately.” He retorted.

“And what will you do if I say no?” Gaius pushed without fully realizing that the game had changed since the last time they had spoken.

“You won’t.” Caleb said simply, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Really?”

“Look at your screens.” He gestured to the lot of them. “The people want you out. They trust me completely.”

“The Police have abandoned you as well, so you’re out on your own.” Erwin supplemented from the frame of the door.

“Gaius! He’s right!” One of the members shouted with horror upon gazing down upon his tablet’s screen.

“Shut up!” Gaius lashed out in a struggle for control.

“The longer you stall, the more likely the other divisions will flock to him anyway. Old politicians in a dark room don’t scare them anymore.” The Admiral added with a false look of innocence.

“This-” Gaius stumbled while he struggled to find some weakness to prod at. “This isn’t over!”

“I’m afraid it is.” Caleb announced with faux sympathy for his bully.

“We’re the Governance Committee! The ship charter gives us the right-”

“You broke the ship charter when you tried to arrest me, Gaius.” He corrected.

“I-”

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” He ignored his stuttering and looked up to address the rest of them, authority buzzing through his words. “You and the rest of the Committee with ask the people to approve a change to the document. I get to pick new members and this whole charade is stopped.”

“And what do _we_ get?” Gaius pushed impishly.

“ _You_ get to be not thrown in prison for the rest of your life.” The Administrator rubbed in.

Along with the rest of the Governance Committee, Gaius stared at Caleb with abhorrent shock as they had been wrongfully cozened. Brows raised high, Caleb smiled innocently at Gaius.

“What’s the matter, Gaius? Did I fucking stutter?”

Not being affected by Gaius’ personal defeat, the other members concerned themselves with the more pressing matter at hand. “Will you commit to this promise in writing?” One asked.

“Of course.”

“Very well.” Cooper nodded, eliciting the rest of them to recognize the great change brought to them.

“No! No, we can’t do this!” Gaius interrupted, petulantly slamming the table with his fists.

“We’re done, Gaius.” Zachley knew when the battle was lost, and this was it.

“We can’t stand up against the people’s will for long.” Another reasoned.

“With the Police under my control,” Acacius addressed the bunch. “you’ll be safe for the remainder of the voyage.” She threw this in to ease their personal fears of being unprotected from the potentially vengeful masses.

“Gaius… There’s one thing I forgot to tell you.” Caleb looked at his aggressor with a serious, more recognizable face once more.

“What?” The dipper baby man spat at him, his voice cracking.

“ _I’ve found my voice_.” With that, Caleb nodded the others in the room farewell, and left the room in confident and proud strides with his new posse following suit.

Caleb knew that even if humanity hadn’t reached their new home yet, it was the beginning of a new era.


	28. Her Plea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing his journey to free Armin from cryostats, Elias has to finally face what he has been putting off for so long: his sister.

Chapter 28 DRAFT

“Citizens of Ark Rose and Sina. As your Administrator, it is my solemn duty to ensure you remain safe and protected on our journey. For this to happen, it is imperative our leadership remains functional. Unfortunately, the members of the Governance Committee have forgotten that obligation. They continue to take my lawful power away, and with each action, they jeopardize everything.” Caleb pressed. “If you believe in our mission, I implore you as your Administrator: keep true to humanity! _Tell them what you think_.” Caleb’s voice rang out through the otherwise silent room, disturbing Kyros’ dull mental activity into an alert and sharp form. He quickly began to calculate what exactly this announcement would incite, and if it pertained to his own means. No… When he had contacted his Commander, she had told him to remain hidden, and she would call the fourth into active duty, along with take care of Eren and his peers when they landed on Tharsis. Everything was out of Kyros’ hands now. Rolling onto his back on the floor, the shadow let out a long sigh.

“This is so boring.” He told himself. “I miss the days when A.R.M.I.N. was online, always ready and willing to talk. Why does my cluster have to be so far away?” He rolled onto his side to prop himself up on an arm and look at the wall in the dim light. “Damnit… Well, at least this internal squabbling should distract the humans for some time. They do love games of power.” He chuckled, then rested his head back on his arm like a heat dazed lion.

“Caleb, I’m sure you can take care of everything from here? I need to take care of our fugitive and captives for questioning still.” Acacius inquired the ginger as she strode alongside him and Erwin in the corridors.

“I believe so. I have confidence in my loyal officers!” The Administrator beamed at her with renewed energy. The two couldn’t help but smile back at him, so proud of his steps forward as a leader. It was a small win when looking at the big picture, but it was enough to lift their spirits. Seeing the looks on Erwin’s and Acacius’ faces, Caleb slowed to a stop, and so did they. “But… I’m being serious… Thank you both for having confidence in me.”

“There’s no need to thank us. We just wanted to see the people safe and you reach your full potential.” Erwin explained, saluting him.

“As much as I’d love to revel in our victory, I really need to get to work. All of you do.” The Admiral chastised, then saluted as well.

“Very well then. You’re both dismissed.” He returned their salute, then walked off with a spring in his step.

Without hesitation, Acacius turned to look at Erwin with serious pins in her gaze. “What did you say about the communication access code? I need to relay that over to Kabir so he can backtrack Kyros through the backdoors he’s used.”

“Sure thing.” He complied while reaching into his breast pocket to retrieve the small slip of paper he received. “Just be sure to enter it once into the system, then send it to Kabir so the login will terminate when he’s done with it. We don’t need that floating around the system indefinitely.”

“Sounds good.” She nodded, then took the paper, already typing in the code into her wrist communicator in a message to Kabir with instructions to dispatch an arrest team that could handle someone like Kyros once they located him.

“Now that’s out of the way, I think I’ll catch up on the work that’s been eluding me the past few hours, and once I catch up I’ll aid Caleb in his efforts to deal with the conduit transfer.”

“Good luck with that.” She muttered hastily, pulling a salute out of Erwin. She rolled her eyes. “Dismissed.”

The Commander and the Admiral had not parted ways for long when her wrist had lit up with an incoming message. Pulling off to the side in a quieter corridor, she hit command for it to play.

“Lieutenant Kabir reporting. We’ve already located Kyros; he was surprisingly easy to track, and we think it has to do with the A.R.M.I.N. being down, since my briefing mentioned he had access to computer back passages. There isn’t anything there to hide him this time around. We’re sending out a team lead by Lieutenant Freudenburg and co-captained by Ensign Dreyse. Kabir out.”

Once the message ended, Acacius exhaled slowly out her nose, knowing all that she could do now was to get back to work and wait for the team to follow through their orders.

In the two weeks that passed, things seemed to go back to normal for the most part, despite the great changes that were actively underway. Despite this feeling of normalcy, Elias still burdened the decision which he would have to make sooner than later. Normally he could go straight to Caleb and give him confirmation, but the conversation that he’d have to hold with his sister was something he dreaded enough to procrastinate until he thought of a way to broach the subject. The prospect was grating, the constant harrassment about it in the back of his mind wearing him down to near exhaustion. Elias, who was ahead of work schedule, began to fall behind to the point of being on pace with the rest of his peers thanks to avoiding checking his messages, which was filling with increasingly urgent inquiries on his decision with the same reminders to be sure about it and to consider others.

One evening, the frail teenager trudged into his residence and plopped face first into his couch again, the roots of his hair visibly glistening with sweat. Just recently arriving home herself, Celia heard her brother come inside and walked into the room to see how his day had been instead of going straight to the showers to cleanse herself of the grime and sweat that had collected on her skin during the tedious work day. Once she noticed the abnormally heavy breathing, she approached closer and her eyes snapped to the sweat in his hair-- something that didn’t accumulate in his profession. Sighing with concern, Celia took a seat on the small interstice available on the couch.

“Elias..? Are you okay?”

The brother visibly seized up upon registering her voice. “No…”

“Can you tell me what’s wrong? Please?” She asked in an attempt to coax him into speaking and skip the part where Elias told her he wasn’t saying anything, gently running her digits through the ends of his thin locks.

“Well I’m just-” He, finally breaking down under the guilt he’d feel if Armin found out he took his place without telling his sister, started morosely, turning his head to look at her. “I have a huge choice to make, but I was told to ask for your opinion first, just so you’d know…”

“What’s the problem? I would rather know, even if it’s something I won’t like, than having you sneak the decision past me and leaving me in the dark. Especially if it’s something that’s making you this stressed and tired.” She wheedled and soothed.

“Okay.” Elias gripped into a throw pillow and looked his sister straight in the eyes, his gut tensing. “In order to ensure the safety of the arks, I’m going to replace Armin’s position of conductivity as his psychological match and genetic heir.”

Celia felt her veins fill with an icy slurry, and moved her hand to grip into his shirt, prompting him to sit up straight. “ _Elias_. That isn’t a choice.” She scolded with hurt in her voice. “That’s a _decision_ you’ve already made! You’re just _notifying_ me you’re going to do this!”

“Celia, this is really important to me, and I made up my mind that I want to go! All I have to do is tell Caleb and I’m set. It’s practically settled by this point, seeing that there isn’t any other way for two branches of the military to surpass a problem they’ve been facing. Both of them desperately need to free up the central computing system and they also need Armin in person to take care of something.”

Spotting Elias’ nicest uniform draped over a chair that wasn’t there yesterday, the young woman’s mind began to feel dull and cold. “You… You haven’t left yet, have you?” She wanted to change his mind, since the only opportunity was right now. But how could she? He had the audacity to get home and plan on getting ready to leave, _mention_ that he was going, then do it anyway, leaving her no time to put up a fight. Following her eyes, Elias realized she figured out how long he had put this off, and gulped.

“I… wanted to look nice for the induction.” He explained weakly.

“I know, I know… It’s going to be a historic moment.” She cut him off before he’d elucidate further.

“I’m still surprised Caleb managed to do it.”

“Yeah…” A chilly silence fell between them.

“Hey Celia?” He asked quietly, earning a flat hum in response. “Don’t look so worried.” He sat up and began to change into his nicer uniform, deciding that the sweat wasn’t so bad and at this rate he’d be late and miss Caleb’s office hours.

“I…” Is all his sister could manage.

“Celia. When I gave you my promise in the Operations Chambers, I wasn’t lying. I’ll come back. This won’t be forever.” He assured, confident in the tech specialists. Celia was so capable that the thought of something happening to her didn’t even pass through Elias’ mind.

“There’s no way of knowing that.” She muttered, clenching her jaw while she watched him.

“We’ve talked about this.” He pressed, thinking back to the times he talked to her about some of the processes that Armin went through and how he got there. Celia didn’t care.

“How do I know you’ll be the same person when you get back? Will you be my brother or something corrupted? Something that isn’t you?” Her voice cracked with desperation and worry.

“The conduit’s mind is connected to the rest of the ship, but that won’t change who I am.” He explained firmly as he slipped on sleeker, darker purple zip-up.

“You trust Caleb’s word?”

“I do.” The brother said without a single thought.

“He was the one who isolated our last computer.” Celia’s breath rolled in small spasms.

“That won’t happen again.” Elias smiled at how silly the thought was. People learned from their mistakes.

“How can you be so sure, Elias? _So many_ things could go wrong. Things that might not even be in our hands! And if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to do a single thing about it!” Tears starting to flood her eyes. She lifted off the couch to make her way towards her brother, and grabbed the cloth of the shoulder of his jacket. Elias only sighed her name in response, big blue eyes many shades darker than hers glaring into her own. “Please…” She begged in one last attempt to get it through his thick skull. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re the only family I have left.”

Elias jerked his shoulder out of her grasp. “I’m not going anywhere, sis. I’ll be right here… You can even talk to me whenever you want at any time.”

“That won’t make it any better. It won’t be the same.”

“Do you remember when we sang together a few months ago?” The teen started in an attempt to give his own side of the story. “When it made the people around us feel safe? It was a hard thing to do… to pretend to have that confidence in the midst of all that fear, but we did it.”

“Their fear was right though.” She struck at his metaphor before he could explain it.

“You asked me what we could do. What way we, just two civilians, could actually make a difference in this world. It was just a small token of help, but it worked.” Elias’ lips pursed. “This is just like that, Celia, except I’ve been given the chance to truly make a difference. I’ll be able to build upon a thousand years of history.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong… It’s not that I’m not happy for you. I trust you’ll do great things, but that’s not gonna make things easier to deal with. A year is a very long time.” She said helplessly as the hot streaks on her face made it more and more difficult to argue.

“I know…” His eyes flickered to the clock on the wall.

“...But I’ll support you.” Celia, giving in when she saw that nothing was getting through to him, finished.

“Huh?” Elias snapped to look at her.

Looking towards the ground, the young woman took another shaky, slow breath. “Even… Even if I’m worried. Heh, the understatement of the century. I… I know mom and dad would be proud. They wouldn’t hesitate… so I shouldn’t either.” She reached out to grab his shoulder again. “Just… Stay safe. Promise me that.”

“I will.”

With that being said, Celia pulled her brother into a tight hug which wasn’t resisted. The implications of what Celia just agreed to settling into her gut, she pulled as close as she humanly could and sorrowfully buried her face in Elias’ shoulder, reveling in what could be the last time she ever felt his touch. However, the moment didn’t last nearly long enough, for Elias, glancing once more at the clock, gently broke from the hug and cupped her cheeks with his hands. Making sure to take the moment in, Elias looked into her eyes one more time before pressing a small, caring kiss to his sister’s forehead.

“I will.” Elias repeated, then let go.

Without saying anything, the both knew that to each other saying goodbye was too permanent sounding, so they left the conversation at that. Wiping her eyes, Celia watched her brother slowly retract from touching her, straighten his jacket, then make his way out the door at a crawling pace. He even looked back once.

“When we arrive at our new home, Elias, we must remember to bring back the spirit of who we once were. A community can only survive through active participation and hard work from every citizen… Including you.”

Caleb’s voice rang in Elias’ ears as he recognized what exactly what the man was alluding to, and he swallowed, staring up at the face above him framed in ginger. Despite his mind already being made up, time still seemed to slow down for Elias along with the feeling of a faster heartbeat and the smallest amount of sweat emerging from his pores.

“You want my decision.” The teen finally confirmed.

“When do you want to do it?” The Administrator asked plainly while stuffing a hand into his pocket.

“I- I didn’t tell you what I decided!” He stuttered, thanks to being thrown off by Caleb’s assured demeanor and question.

“Would you really have come all this way just to tell me no?” He asked with a knowing smile.

“I would have, sir.” Elias established his long-standing respect for the man.

This elicited a soft chuckle from Caleb along with an unbelieving shake of his head. “Go ahead.”

“It would be an incredible commitment... Yet so much is on the line...” He started, going through any last second reasons to back out. With a shaky breath, Elias drew the dull, almost aching, realization that there was nothing that put enough weight upon the scale to stop him. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

The words yanked a relieved smile from the both of them, the two of them standing alone in the middle of the soon to be abandoned GOVCOM board room. There was no going back now.


	29. Frozen Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias' final leg of his mission includes paperwork and a complex integration process. Patience and quick thinking has cleared him of obstacles up to this point, but when Elias hands his life in the hands of others, the reality of the situation becomes a little too real for his comfort.

Chapter 29 DRAFT

Wrought with the relief of finally making his decision known to Caleb, a pleasant calm spread throughout Elias’ body, his pupils dilating back to a normal diameter. He hoped that now that it was over with, he wouldn’t have any more hassles from the point out to the conduit transfer. Leaning against the edge of the table of the deep cerulean Committee board room, Elias wondered exactly they would do next, seeing that so much depended on this portion of Erwin’s plan.

“So, are we going to head over to the Operations Chamber now?” He asked slowly, snapping Caleb out of the thoughtful stupor that settled over him.

“Well, not exactly…” The Administrator dragged with a frown. “There’s a few more things the system and records needs to account for which were dependent upon how you answered. Since you are in fact volunteering to replace Armin as the conduit, you’re going to need to report to the only place that you travel to regularly besides your home: the Records Department.”

“What?” He whined and stood up straight again.

“It won’t take long, but you need to give these occupational dismissal papers to your boss and explain that you’re essentially retiring. They’re already filled out for you.” Caleb crossed his arms and sunk further into the table’s edge. “Wait, were you planning on participating in phase two of the long term Department plan?”

“Well, considering the preservation of history is just as important after we land, and I’ll need a source of income, yes, I was.” Elias explained with an arched brow.

“Well then. You’re going to have to explain that there’s a possibility that, albeit extraordinarily unlikely, you won’t be coming back for that.”

Elias swallowed. “I understand, sir.”

“Alright then.” He offered the teen an assuring smile. “I have a meeting soon that will run until eighteen-hundred hours. It’s fourteen-hundred as of this moment, so you have four hours to file those papers and say any goodbyes you haven’t had the chance to give yet. But remember: you can tell them to visit the A.R.O.C. or the A.S.O.C. at anytime.” Caleb stood up to stretch.

“Yes sir…” Elias nodded.

“One more thing, Elias.” Caleb stopped walking to look back behind at the teen following his steps out the door.

“Hm?”

“Thank you. You’ve saved our skins.” The Administrator said cheerily yet earnestly. After Elias got over the shock of being personally thanked by the highest ranking official on the arks, he looked up to give his own thanks, but Caleb had disappeared without a trace.

Flashdrive in hand, Elias demurely made his way into his branch of the work office and to the front desk where his supervisor looked simultaneously bored and peeved at the same time, per usual. Unsure of how to navigate the awkward conversation sure to come, he placed the drive on her black desktop without a word, never breaking eye contact. Kimmy gave her favorite worker a bright, welcoming smile despite how off the teen in front of him felt.

“Back again today, Elias? How many times do I have to tell you that we _will_ take care of our jobs correctly here, and there’s nothing to worry about?” She teased while she eyed the drive in front of her, then snatched it to read it on her tablet.

“No, it’s alright.” He squirmed.

“What’s with the drive, hm? Taking a vacation? Well it’s about time! I’m proud of you, Elias.” She announced cheerily while plugging the port in.

“About that…” Elias looked off to his side to stare at the dimly lit records shelves.

“Well I’m about to see what this is all about anyway, so you don’t need to beat around the- Oh.” The smile was quickly snuffed with a look of shock.

“I’d keep my job here as well if I could, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I want to do my part.” He said firmly and balled his fists.

“I don’t have a problem with it, Elias… We will- Well, the people who got to know you will miss you. I’ll miss you, and I’m not saying that just because you’re a good worker.” She gazed into Elias’ eyes with sadness, and they instantly darted away from hers.

“I’ll miss this job.” He replied emotionlessly, gripping into the corners of his arms.

Sighing dejectedly, Kimmy ejected the drive and placed it back on the desk close to him. “I hope we all get to see you when you’ve done your duty. Good luck out there.” A glint of hope was present in her voice, calling Elias’ gaze back to her.

“Thank you. Good luck running the place.” Eliss’ tone was drenched with melancholy. As he said his last goodbye, he gently took the drive back and stuffed it into his pocket. Not knowing how to drag the conversation out further, the teen left it at that, and turned around to leave so he could make it back to the A.S.O.C. early.

“If you see a friend, punch him on the shoulder for me!” She called out for nostalgia’s sake.

“Sure thing!” Elias called back with a short chuckle.

“Oh wait!” Kimmy suddenly called as if she remembered something important. Elias turned around with minimal annoyance in his expression. “You should go put your desktop belongings in your desk’s lockable drawer!”

“Oh.” He grimaced. The _last_ thing he wanted to do while here was go into the work area; he just wanted to get all of this over with and deal with few people as possible. His day had been extraordinarily draining so far… “I don’t have anything of value there. I’ll be fine.”

“I’d say fine, but it’s workplace protocol. Sorry, Elias.”

“Okay, okay…” He muttered in defeat, then made his way past Kimmy’s desk at a brisk pace through the low arched doorway and into the work area.

Not giving anyone he passed a single thought, he made his way past all the cubicles to his own at the very end of the row, noticing that, like he expected, everyone was “working” like usual whether he was there or not. Once he made it to his own cubicle, Elias quickly dropped to a crouch, fumbling in his pockets to find the desk key he never used. Elias, once he remembered that he actually kept it tapped to the underside of the desktop, found it easily enough, and unlocked the drawer. Shoving everything on his desk inside in an unnecessarily frantic fashion, he didn’t expect the knock on the frame of his cubicle, his head slamming into the hard plastic in reaction.

“ _What_?” He snapped, whipping his head around to see just who it was. Unnaturally saturated red hair pulled into a stupid ponytail framing a well defined face invaded his eyesight. Oh no. “What do you want, _Dev_?”

“Hey-!” He smoothed a hand through his hair before stuffing them into his pockets. “I noticed that you’ve been more cranky than usual the past couple of days.” He said softly, leaning into the doorframe and crossing a leg to rest it on his toes. Elias only ignored him. “But… What’s with all the mad scrambling like it’s the end of life as we know it? Going somewhere?” He arched a brow as his tone became more playfully smug.

“Yes, actually.” Elias snapped, not sparing him another glance and turned back to what he was doing.

“Oh. That’s too bad.”

“I know _right?_ Now you’re going to have to harass someone else to do your work for you.” He growled acrimoniously. “In fact, why don’t you do that right now?”

“Hey! I just wanted to make sure you’re alright, okay? But seriously, where’re you going? It’s not a permanent leave is it?”

“And why do you want to know?” He continued to shove things into the drawer.

Devin stood up straight. “Because believe it or not, I _care_ about you and I don’t like seeing you up-”

“Will you stop that?” He barked with a heavy eye roll and finally looked at the other again. “You don’t need to keep saying things like that because _I’m leaving until we land, Dev_. Unlike you, I’m trying to contribute to society, so I’m taking the opportunity given to me to become the arks’ new conduit!” Elias’ voice gradually rose along with his posture until he was standing with his teeth grit. Dev’s jaw dropped, his body language quickly drooping into a nervous mess.

“I don’t…” His face flushed with the lack of words he could draw. “Have you really thought about it? Just look at what happened to A.R.M.I.N.! He’s a total nut case and-”

“He’s not a nut case! Why don’t you _get to know someone before you make accusations_ like that?” Elias stomped his foot.

“Look, I just think it’s dangerous and that you shouldn’t do it! For all I know, you could die…” Devin’s eyes fell to the floor and he bit his lip anxiously. “Don’t become E.L.I.A.S….”

“Honestly, I don't see why this is your concern. I already thought it through and made my choice.”

“Elias _please_. What about your sister?” He begged with a reason inexplicable to Elias. “What about- What about me?”

Looks of guilt regarding his sister quickly turned into an acute anger with the nerve Devin struck. “You have the audacity to put yourself on the list of important people in my life when you have done nothing to earn a place there? Armin, Celia...  my parents deserve to have their opinion heard. Not you.”

Devin wanted to be angry, wanted to look angry, but instead Elias’ words stung for the first time in ages. “Look. Elias… I know I've been a dick to you sometimes. But…” He swallowed as he dug his heel into the ground; it was the very last chance he had to explain himself. “But that doesn't mean I don't care about you. I've always tried to look out for you in.. my own asshole-ish way. That’s why I’ve always tried to talk to you since we were assigned here.”

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: that was probably a mistake.” Elias tried to shut him down so Devin would let him leave, considering he was blocking the doorway.

“No. It wasn’t. I’m perfectly suited for this job.” He clenched his teeth at the way the other squinted at him. “What I’m _not_ suited for is being a weak kneed slave because someone who’s barely twenty won’t do this job, and forces someone as young as nine to do it for them. Even if I’m ‘interested’ or ‘proficient’ in history, even if my personality is a persona I made a year ago so people wouldn’t care that I resisted and you would at least acknowledge my existance, I refuse to bend to the system." He growled bitterly, even more so when Elias started tapping his foot. "Will you please believe me this once?”

Elias, closing his jaw which gaped a little without his permission, only rolled his eyes. “You’re expecting me to believe you’re- what? Actually a nice guy who’s a ‘history nerd’? You’re unbelievable, _Dev_. Really unbelievable. Even if this wasn’t some _lame joke_ , that means you’ve been lying to me the whole time I’ve known you. It’s sophomoric!”

“I know! I was dumb! I should have given it up since it obviously wasn’t working, and now it’s lead to this, but this is my last chance to come clean. But I still- I just…” He huffed, frustrated with himself. “You're right. I don't deserve to have my opinion heard, but I wanted you to hear it anyway because I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Elias mind was working in overdrive as he listened, trying to figure out Devin’s motives for pulling a stunt like this. People always flocked to Devin, but Devin only seemed to approach him. That’s because he was the fastest at doing work, right? No… Some were closer to Devin’s cubicle and worked almost as fast and were more tolerant. It wasn’t because he was scared of approaching others, seeing he had a girlfriend now. All he did was come and bother him, even if he didn’t have work to do and he tried to shoo the ginger off with all his might. Why couldn’t he mind his business like everyone else? He couldn’t conclude anything with the amount of time he had.

“... Thanks for the concern, _Dev_ , but you don’t have any reason to be. Even if something did happen to me, which it won’t, the only thing you’d be missing is the person who did your work for you.” He spoke more calmly as he shut and locked him drawer. “You have other people to socialize with. You have a friends and a girlfriend.” Elias pursed his lips in thought.

“Yeah…” Devin shifted uncomfortably, and his pupils darted to the hallway.

“If you want to talk about the way things are run, be an actual contributing member of society and talk to our new government about the issue instead of slacking.” He took a jagged step forward, sudden enough to make Devin flinch. “If it means _that_ much to you, you can talk to me any time just by calling my name. Now… please let me through.” Eying the other dangerously, Elias scrunched his nose. Devin, still struggling to think of a counterpoint, merely moved out of the way as Elias approached the door. Just as he passed through, however, he impulsively grabbed the other’s jacket by the sleeve.

"I just wanted to say that I-"

Elias, offended that he would grab him like that, jerked away from him. “Goodbye, Dev.”

Devin seemed frozen besides his adrenaline fueled pulse ripping through him until Elias was long out of earshot, then booted Elias’ office chair harshly, sending it toppling over.

After one half hour trip that consisted of confusion and irritation that slowly faded into impatience for eighteen-hundred hours to arrive already just so Elias could get this all over with, the teen strode down the empty hallways of Ark Sina to make his make to the A.S.O.C.. A surprisingly short walk --facilitated by Sina’s expediting pedestrian conveyer belts that were started up again for the first time in months-- later, Elias approached the A.S.O.C. through surroundings familiar to Elias of quiet hallways and piping stretching the lengths of the halls. However, as he approached the final stretch of his trip, he saw a stout young woman with long auburn hair and a round face waiting at the end of the hall. Upon seeing the teen, the woman waved in a cordial manner that piqued his curiosity, and he cautiously waved back once he got within a few meters of her.

“Hello! You must be Elias, correct?” She grinned.

“Yeah..?” He said doubtfully; too many officials were haranguing him as of late.

“Oh good! I’m Charli. Administrator Caleb assigned me to wait out here for you, since he figured that you’d head back here as soon as possible after you dropped your release forms off. I’m just gonna let you in and assist the boss where I can.” Charli explained, then motioned him to follow her down the hall.

“How’d the Administrator know I’d be here?”

“He said that you were rather predictable when it came to this type of stuff.” Charli mused.

The teen did nothing but grumble tiredly in response, and turned to face the door along side her. When Elias swiped his keycard out of habit, an aggressive and intimidating beep reverberated through the halls, causing Elias to almost fly into a frenzy because he surmised that there was a distinct possibility that another rebellion coordinated by the old committee was in the works. Thankfully before Charli could question what his deal was, a hiss indicated that the door was being unlocked and opened from the inside.

“Glad you could make it early.” A nameless voice called out when the door opened enough for sound to carry.

“What’s with the door?” Elias hissed, skipping the pleasantries, clearly still distraught over the idea of a reverse revolution.

“Oh. The door was only locked because a privacy measure ensures that if Armin’s Matrix door is unlocked, this one would be sealed… Along with Armin’s conscious going dormant and only his auto responses guiding us diagnosis-wise.” Charli’s face reflected the dying excited energy. Elias replied with a sound of understanding her slight technobabble.

“Oh… That makes sense, I guess.” His voice was a mixture of excitement because Armin’s Matrix was opened, relief for his assumptions being false, and disappointment because as he spoke he was looking behind Charli to see if Armin was up and talking to whoever was inside. He only saw an anxious looking Moblit and didn’t hear anything.

“Anyway, it’s good you’re here because I’m about to begin double checking the disconnections between A.R.M.I.N. and the more loosely connected tertiary networks from his conscious, then the secondary ones. That way the A.R.M.I.N. system will be completely isolated from the rest of the Arks except for in the A.S.O.C. and his chamber with a guarantee nothing will go wrong today.” Moblit’s expression became more serious as he further dove into his zone. “Then begins the actual challenge of separating the ‘Mechanical Interface Network’ from the ‘Automated Response portion’. I had a gut feeling that I would need you  here after I finish the most difficult part.” He looked over his shoulder to Elias.

“Hm?” He inquired with an arched brow.

“I need some assistance filtering out the provided and code-of-conduct fitting responses that Armin’s brain processes in the background provided by the attached processing computers. Then I’d delete them, and leaving behind the fraction of rational decision making, personality, empathy, tolerances, and morals that’s actually kept in the brain to begin with. Well, what’s left of it.” His talking pace remained calm and even as his jittery leg bouncing increased in speed.

Once he had finished explaining --and leaving Elias overwhelmed-- he began to get out of his seat, but his assistant darted before he could rise, so he settled back down. Pressing a code into a touchscreen on the side of the wall, Charli commanded a desk with a manual keyboard and holo-mouse to rise out of the floor along with a chair to match, where she promptly plopped into the seat. She beamed with excitement as the holo-projector in the floor activated and displayed what looked like a complex web of files branching out from a central icon which looked like a brain.

“See, I had a strange inkling that I would want Elias of all people to help me in the final non-corporeal procedure: double checking my decisions on what I salvage from an external drive of “on hand” data before I decide to download it into the final product.” The man elaborated to ease Elias’ consternated expression as he typed seemingly at the speed of light.

The three of them fell into an uncomfortable expression for an indeterminable amount of time until eventually the two techies fell into a quiet conversation about Hanji’s whereabouts as of that moment, with Moblit expressing concern for her carelessness and the dangerous conditions of her expedition to Tharsis.

“And we are done with stage two!” Moblit interrupted Charli when he slammed the enter key.

The teenager looked up at the giant projected monitor to see that the web of systems were, in fact, completely disconnected Also the chats scattered all over the display were firing off things rapidly like “Eyyyyyyyyyyyy” and “Good job guys!” from the other technicians all over the arks.

“You’re done already?” Elias was genuinely shocked.

“Well I haven’t gotten any sleep in the last two days because I was double checking the new system arrangements and webs, and also preparing launch codes and sequences before hand… Since Hanji’s gone…” Moblit wiped his brow. “Now _we_ get to do the _fun_ part, Elias!”

“Alright…” Elias muttered, taking Charli’s seat when she offered it to him. The the woman got up, stretched, and headed for the door.

“I’ll see you when you’re done, Sir.” She said while looking back with an easy but fatigued smile.

“Thanks for the help. You’ve made the process a lot easier, considering I don’t have Hanji to work with.”

“Sure thing.” He called out behind him as she left. Elias just ignored the entire exchange because he was curious about what exactly he was doing.

“So!” The technician started with a clap of his hands. “What you’re going to do is read through the data labels for compressed data packages that I will translate, and tell me if the trait or feature it encodes seems uncharacteristic of Armin. If that’s the case, then the file is corrupted or broken, so it’ll need to be tossed.” He explained while he hunkered back down into his seat and commanded the tiny little dot Elias noticed earlier to expand into a full window.

“Oh. Seems easy enough.” Elias stated as he looked over the list of categories that he would slowly make his way through. Oh, it looked there was only really one category he’d actually need to sift, since the rest were automatic functions that Armin, as a human being, didn’t pay attention to.

 

>Personality

>Involuntary Responses

>Physiological Senses

>Memories

>Linguistic Patterns

 

 _Well this doesn’t look too terrible_ , Elias thought as he made his way down the list. However, the teen immediately took his own thoughts back when the Technician expanded the “Personality” tab to show all the subfolders.

 

^Personality

>Honesty >Responsibility >Work Ethic >Adaptability >Drive >Patience >Courage >Adventurousness >Affability >Conscientiousness >Culturedness >Dependability >Discreetness >Fairness >Fearlessness >Observantness >Impartial Subjects >Independence >Optimism >Intelligence >Keenness >Gregariousness >Persistence >Capability >Charm >Precision >Confidence >Dutifulness >Encouragement >Reliability >Exuberance >Helpfulness >Humbleness >Suaveness >Imagination >Meticulousness >Obedience >Trustfulness >Valiance

 

Much to Elias’ dismay, this was going to take an expansive amount of time.

It was an arduous task, but slowly enough Moblit and Elias made their way through the entire list, and moved onto the other categories. The teenager could only give Moblit looks of confusion when he stumbled upon the sloven mess of where Armin’s memories and retention of physiological senses were supposed to be located.

“You aren’t responsible for this are you?” Moblit impugned with a slight snarl in his voice. “He’s going to have a terrible time adapting when he wakes up now, you know!”

“No! I don’t know how that data got there!” He panicked under Moblit’s glare. “Maybe… He had hobbies? An accident? Kyros?” He implored uneasily.

“That’s good, because not only would you have been tampering with government property, you would have been hacking and exhuming old records that are censored to the public in order to put them there in the first place. I don’t even know what half of this stuff is!” He stated while staring at the monitor, rapidly screening through information on Axiom’s theoretical geography and biology. All Castner could do was rub the back of his neck, flustered. “There’s nothing I can do about it now, though. Just give me time to salvage what I can.”

A half an hour later of a silence filled with nothing but the whirl of cooling fans, Moblit finally stood up to close out all the windows and turn off the monitor. Elias watched the technician wrap up his work with half lidded eyes. God, this was so dull. Just when it seemed like the preliminary steps officially decided to become eternal, a small group of nurses burst through the door without warning, all of them buzzing about the advance in medical science that could potentially take place under their stoic exterior. What made the teen’s nerves stand on edge wasn’t the sudden clamor, but the sight of the Police Coordinate escorts standing outside the door.

“He’s isolated like you said, right?” One of the younger of the women said with enthusiasm.

“Yep! Let’s get started installing the transfer cryochamber before the Administrator arrives.” The man replied as the the energy of the atmosphere breathed anxiety into him once more.

“Don’t worry, that’s why we got here early. It’s only four thirty!” A blonde man shouted from the hallway as he pushed a rather large levitating cart into the A.S.O.C.

“Right then! Let’s load him up!” He directed, tone reflecting her position as a squad leader, then she turned to face the two bystanders. “Alright Elias. I hope your curiosity has been filled, because this is where you can’t follow me into the Human Perceptional Matrix. I’m no longer the specialist here, so I don’t have a say in what you can observe.” He crossed his arms.

“Alright, I’ll just wait out here.” He sighed, and slowly wandered to the corner of the off-cyan room and hunkered down. With his thoughts to himself, Elias’ mind quickly started going over everything that had happened to him today in waves. He didn’t desire to think about his sister getting kind of upset over him leaving, and he certainly didn’t want to think about the confusing clusterfuck that was Dev. Instead, he chose to think about how ecstatic Armin was going to be when he woke up, and how so much was going to get done because of him. Burying his forehead into his knees, thus messing up his long hair, Elias yawned with fatigue. The weight and fatigue his body felt was just enough to let him fall into a light sleep…

A sudden poke to the crown of his head woke him up, his eyes snapping open in surprise. Looking upward from his spot on the floor, Elias gasped at the sight of Administrator Caleb’s face hovering above him, and started to scramble so he could get to his feet.

“Elias, calm down! Everything’s fine and you’re not in trouble.” The young man assured Elias before he could ask questions and rile himself up further. Caleb, who reached out a hand in order to help Elias onto his feet, looked behind his shoulder to indicate the that the teen should do the same.

Taking his hand and pulling himself up, Castner sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s good. Thank you, sir.”

“No problem. It’s good that you slept for a while, anyway; your body and mind are more relaxed than before, which is good for the transfer.” Caleb turned his shoulders so the teen could see the Human Perceptional Matrix behind him, which was still bustling with prep activity, but the new twin cryochamber was fully assembled.

“That’s good…” Elias grunted while he stretched out.

“Are you ready to go in?” He asked slowly.

“As ready as I’ll ever be…”

“Excellent.” Caleb motioned him. “At this rate, we’ll stay on schedule, so follow me.”

The teen followed as he was directed with a small smile, and was instantaneously surrounded by technicians, paramedics, and specialists of all kinds. Caleb, who could only watch the commotion, took a step back to the corner of the room until he was needed again. Even as Elias was immensely distracted by the fact he was standing right next to Armin in his cryochamber, the group still ordered him to strip down, slapping a piece of freeze-proof bioadhesive over his nethers. Then he sat down and held still as they took measurements and blood samples.

Slowly but surely, Castner was hooked up to a vast amount of monitors that would read his stats and make sure he was okay and IV needles that didn’t leak anything into him yet. However, the one that particularly caught his attention was the frame of cushioned plastic that they adhered into the back of his head where the tip of the base of his skull met the northern end of his spinal chord, which they had to shave a patch of hair off to do so. Right before he was finished being hooked up, the Administrator cleared his throat.

“Elias. There’s something important I need to ask you before we go any further.”

“What is it?” The teen strained as he was pinched by another needle.

“As you know, your conscious won’t be filtered or patched unlike Armin was over time, so your personality and emotions should be rather present even in your automated responses. However, this leads to a situation that will automatically arise upon activation.” The both of them swallowed. “You see… We think it’d be human to let you be self aware twenty-four-seven, but that means you’ll know of your body.”

“Yeah? What’s so bad about that? That’s a good thing.” He batted his eyes.

“Well, based on previous experience, being aware of your body but not being able to feel it is, well, terrifying.” Caleb elucidated while he shifted his weight on his heels.

“Oh.”

“So I’m getting your consent: would you let us place a patch on you so when you _don’t_ feel your body, any potential negative feedback surges will be suppressed, and you’ll feel neutral about the subject?”

Elias didn’t need to think. “Well, I don’t want to surge anything, so go ahead.” He affirmed.

“Alright then. We can start the next stage.” Caleb announced, springing the assistants into action. The group of adults checked the status of the twin cryochamber, and it gave a green light. Taking the tablet one of them handed to him, the Administrator then entered a new pin code that would control the chambers lock  and authorized it.

With a loud hiss, the top of the chamber opened similarly to a coffin lid, the fog inside billowing over its edges. As its sides lowered so its shape became more like a mat than a bathtub, the interior radiated cold like the lighting around the base’s edges.

“This… is where I get in, right?” Elias asked slowly. The group of his supporters before him only nodded, so he got up, careful not to disturb any of his equipment, and awkwardly crouched and lied down on the minimally cushy and _freezing_ surface. Feeling the space below him with his fingertips, Elias noticed how unnaturally smooth the mat was. Once he settled, one of the technicians approached his side.

“I’m gonna have to direct you to move in place so you’re properly aligned, Mr. Castner.”

“Okay…” Elias responded suriously.

“Alright, scooch an inch or so to the left…” The brunette woman instructed, and Elias did so as carefully as he could. “Stop, good. Now move up four inches…” She said, and Elias slowly wiggled awkwardly into place. “Stop! That’s perfect! Now, it’s important that you stay _still_ , okay?”

Elias was about to nod for her, but as he began to tilt his chin downward, the feeling of a wickedly sharp needle grazing the skin above his spinal chord --in the hollow spot where the plastic was on his neck-- made him freeze in place.

“Okay.” He moved his mouth instead.

As the woman backed away, Caleb approached Elias as the chamber walls began to rise confine Elias.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Elias? This is your last chance to back out.” Caleb looked down at him with a grin on his lips, but his eyes were somber.

“... Yes. I’m ready, sir.” Elias didn’t allow himself to think about it at this point.

“Thank you.” The man said weakly, and reached down to squeeze Castner’s hand as the closest thing he could to a handshake, then took a step back. “He’s ready, guys. Prepare the transfer.”

“Yes sir!” They all clamored and scatter.

The last thing Elias saw before the chamber’s lid lowered and blocked his view of the outside world was Caleb looking down at him and smiling.

“Okay, let’s get this thing rolling! The clock is ticking people!” The squad’s leader shouted to his members as he directed all sorts of measurements onto a large projected screen. Scrambling into their final positions, the assistants all hunkered down with their tablets and began to type furiously.

“A.R.M.I.N., run a self diagnosis.” One called out.

“Right away sir.” Armin’s voice said mechanically. More panels opened themselves up upon the screen and showed their progress through his own disconnection, which thankfully was running smoothly without issues. During the quiet pause, Caleb took the opportunity to move away from the chamber to make room for the group of assistants huddled at his feet and ask for extra anesthetics for Elias, the techies messing around with and moving plugs. After several noisy minutes with people shouting commands at each other and loud beeps and dings, the programs lit up.

“Self-Diagnosis is complete. Disconnection program is ready.” Armin dronned.

“Good. How are you doing in there, Elias?” The Administrator inquired.

“It’s-” He started, trying to suppress his teeth from chattering. “It’s cramped, but I can manage.” Castner’s response was muffled heavily by the cryochamber.

“Are we good then?” A doctor asked after a tap to Caleb’s shoulder.

“Yes. Computer- activate New Protocol One.” The ginger commanded firmly.

“Special transition program is ready.” The CPU chimmed. “Please state authorization code.”

“Administrator Caleb. Code number alpha-three-eight-one-six-gamma.” He said with precise punctuation.

“Voice code verified. Protocol has been activated.”

“How’s Armin’s temperature?” Caleb asked.

“The de-freezing system’s been working all day. Everything’s a go.” A techie replied.

“Initializing main connection. Elias, this will hurt. Brace yourself.” Another doctor said sternly, then pressed the button before the teenager could oppose the idea. The room winced at the short but blood curdling scream that came muffled out of the chamber a second later. “Armin’s been disconnected. Removing additional non-embedded wiring to assist departure.”

“How’s compatibility?” Caleb asked.

“No signs of rejection from either his brain or the system. Synchronization ratios are almost as high as Armin’s prime. We’re just seconds from full integration.” The first doctor replied.

Waiting by the door, several paramedics stood there with a hovercraft, ready to take Armin’s chamber away, which was being deracinated from the floor by several engineers. Once Armin was loaded, the clock was ticking, and the second doctor shouted at the paramedics as they left.

“Bring him to the med bay! Be careful; he hasn’t used his body since the voyage began!”

Snapping Caleb’s attention away from Armin being carted off, the head doctor shouted at him over the humming that slowly became louder and higher in pitch from the chamber. “Full integration is at acceptable levels. Administrator, the full board is green.”

Without warning, the hum reached a climax then suddenly cut, leaving the room in almost complete silence. Once he swallowed nervously, Caleb turned his head upwards to look at the ceiling.

“... Can you hear me, Elias? Are you okay.” The Administrator asked tentatively.

The silence was unbearable; their last hope could be dead.

“Yes, Administrator. Everything’s good.”

Everyone sighed with relief.

“In fact… I feel _great_.”

 


	30. Thaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and 104th get back home, Elias ascends to omnipresence as E.L.I.A.S., Celia and Devin lost their battle, and Erwin's plan to free Armin worked. While many individual stories some to an end, many are created with new beginnings that are tied together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank my QPP Rachel for supporting me through this 10 month journey and beta reading my first serious attempt at writing something. I'm so happy I completed this journey. It was quite an experience!  
> There are other IMPORTANT notes at the end of the chapter with news and information.

Chapter 30 DRAFT

The Administrator and his council of specialists deemed it best for Elias that his system would slowly be opened to him in sectors for him to explore and master once Caleb was finished answering the teen’s immediate questions. Caleb’s presence in the A.S.O.C., keeping Elias’ conscious alive, allowed his active conscious to adapt before he merged with the “digital sea” and became the Engineering Logistic Interface Application Services.

“I’m… I’m just kinda dissapointed that I have to wait to meet him in person…” Castner ruminated aloud in his newly mechanical voice.

“I know… You’ll meet him one day. I promise. You could always see him when you have access to your cameras in the medbay, you know.” Caleb sighed, leaning further into the wall and crossing his arms in thought.

“That’s a good idea! Gosh, it’s strange being omnipresent and I’m not even there yet.” Elias’ voice rose in excitement. “But… What if I watch him _die_ in the med bay?” He worried.

“He’s in very good hands.” Caleb assured.

“Do you know what’s going on with him now?” Elias’ voice fidgeted.

“Well, I’m not to observe the process, not that I’d want to, but I was informed as to what the procedures are… First as a safety measure, Armin’s Human Perceptional Matrix Chamber was first brought to a med bay to sterilize him-”

“What.” He interrupted in a droning, doubtful tone. Caleb shot him a look.

“To prevent any _thousand year old diseases_ on the surface of his skin or in his orifices from being released that were potentially preserved. This has to happen before they even think about popping his can open.” He then hummed flatly in thought. “The rest of it focuses on the actual procedure of reversing the dual cryogenic bioconductor technology that took so long for humanity to develop before we even left. It’s amazing, really.” He mused further. “To be able to keep a patron’s brain young and fresh but isolated from the body in cryogenic freeze.”

“Is that why this is so dangerous?” Castner asked.

Caleb only nodded, which elicited more nervous noises from Elias. “Do you know what the actual procedure is?” He swallowed.

The Administrator took a breath then spoke. “I don’t know the _exact_ details since this isn’t my field, but the whole process goes like this with the specialists.” Using his hands and fingers, he counted off the steps so he wouldn’t lose track and used gestures to explain. “First, his body core will be warmed. This has to be done in priority or else they’ll _kind of_ permanently destroy his cardiovascular system thanks to the fact that his limbs will draw fluids away from his heart.” Caleb couldn't help but wince.

“Ah.” He squeaked.

“Then special anesthetics would be introduced to keep his body under and unconscious while his body is prepared. It’s best that he doesn’t possibly wake up while his body feels like it’s dying old age…” He clarified sheepishly. “Thirdly, his external limbs would be warmed or else the drastic temperature difference between the core and the more…”

“Oh my-” Elias made a noise like a small, rusty hinge and began to pierce at the ground.

“You know what? I’ll spare you the details.” Caleb interrupted when Elias’ distraught vocalisms started to overpower him. “Anyway, at this point the body needs oxygen, so a sterilized mixture of oxygen and a small amount of nitrogen will be pumped into the chamber, and a shock would be delivered to start his heart again. Once that’s done, the best of our medical technology would heal and restart his internal organs, along with regenerating his currently shriveled nerve endings.”

“How can you have so much confidence about this?” He snapped at Caleb with a ghastly tone.

“I have faith in my medical staff. The same tech will deliver nutrients to his body to completely stabilize his digestive track. At this point, his chamber’s seal will finally be broken, and the hatch will lay his body right upon a sick bed!”

“Oh.” Is all Castner could manage at this point.

“After a short break for the doctors, at which point the body will be stable, their real job begins. They’ll remove all the physical gear and attachments to his brain via surgery.” He slowed down, struggling to remember the rest of the long list. “Then… The med bay’s standard technology will heal the regular injuries, wounds, and openings acquired from the surgery. Finally, the body will be given a period to recover and stabilize again before the anesthetics are slowly reduced in dosage from his system. If all goes well, he’ll wake up after that in two weeks.”

“Oh my God…” Elias squeaked, regarding the trials one body alone couldn’t possibly survive. “I don’t want to worry about him while I try to get used to this! Could that affect the systems?”

“Theoretically, yes, it could. If you want to stop worrying about it though, we could let you stop fussing in your higher conscious and merge with the system. You’ve been aware of this room for five hours already.” Caleb yawned.

“You’re right… The sooner I take over, the sooner I can take care of Armin and Celia… of everyone.”

“That’s great, Elias.” The Administrator stretched. “Unless you send a distress signal, we’ll check on you in two weeks, alright?”

“Sure thing, Administrator.” He said, relieved.

“Good luck.” Caleb wished behind his shoulder, then walked out of the A.S.O.C., allowing Elias to slowly and willingly slink down into the inky deep space of his mind.

Despite the loud cheering and remarks of wonder that his peers made, Devin sat alone in his cubicle, opting to stay in silence and have time to himself. Kimmy was offering everyone to take a one hour break to skim through all the new and uncensored information that they pleased thanks to the system being back online. Someone he knew but couldn’t place off the top of his head was shouting about the types of food they could eat before a large amount of the crop species died fifty years into the journey, and thanked Elias with more gusto as if he was still there in person at the office. Sighing, Devin slumped down onto his desk and covered his face and ears with his arms, making him appear as if he were taking a nap. Once he wiggled further into his makeshift burrow, he drew in a deep breath and groaned loudly into his sleeves.

“I should have told him.” The tail end of this statement spiked with frustration. Devin’s outburst was loud enough, but everyone knew him to be a shallow whiner, so no one even thought to check on the redhead. He should have told him while he could still talk to him…

Eyes widening to reveal hazel irises, Devin slowly lifted his head in revelation. The teen, uncertain with a lot of things in his life, slowly opened his mouth and drew in a breath. Hopefully the one option Elias offered would work.

“E.L.I.A.S.?” Devin said softly but firmly. The few seconds that passed were excruciating.

“Hello?” E.L.I.A.S. asked hesitantly but still managed to sound chipper.

“Elias! Thank God, I needed to talk to you, and-”

“Hang on.” The mechanical tone suddenly grew dark. “Your record indicates that you are one hundred and sixteen hours behind on your data processing quota, thus your service access has been suspended except for non-emergency situations until your quota has been filled.”

“But-” He begged.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Please get back to work, Devin.” He stated plainly then the tone indicating his absence sounded.

Hearing the complete _lack_ of irritation in Elias’ voice, Devin’s heart sunk all the way to his diaphragm. Even if he did all that work, he still wouldn’t be talking to Elias. With nothing else worthwhile to do, Devin mournfully sunk back into his desk.

“They’re requesting to land, sir.” Crackled over the communications on the vessel for all to hear.

“Let them remain in Dock Bay C. It remains unused.” Another that sounded like Dot Pixis replied.

“Yes sir.”

Everyone onboard was too beat tired to talk over the announcements, so the space between the people on the ark’s conversation was the only thing they heard as they slumped against the seating that was available and the walls.

“Incoming transmission.”

“Patch it through.” Dot ordered, queuing everyone to look up at who was talking to the arks, but it wasn’t one of the passengers. The group of teens looked expectantly at Captain Levi, and the short man nudged his chin to the cockpit of the ship.

“This is the pilot of the vessel. We’re awaiting the dock opening signal.”

“It’s being sent as we speak, but are the reports indicating one of your crew being injured accurate?” Pixis inquired with his gravelly voice.

“Yes. Ensign Sasha Braus received severe injury to her right arm.”

“I’ll contact the medics.” This elicited a relieved sigh from Sasha, who was lying on a table curled in a ball around her bloody and bandaged arm, and winced when the entire ship jolted.

“We’ve docked.” Eren said tiredly, then sat up from his slouched position against the wall. No one questioned why he sounded so distant; the crew had to report that Axiom was inhabited, and it was the Axiomites themselves that wanted to destroy humanity.

When Armin slipped into the very first vestiges of consciousness, saying that he automatically went under sensory overload was an understatement of astronomical proportions. Since all forms of physiological responses and most of his memories were replaced or lost with time, he had no practice merely being _alive_. Thankfully no one was in the room to speak with him the second he woke, or he would have the arduous task of even comprehending the English language through his own ears.

Everything was in slow motion and lightning fast at once as his thoughts jumbled into a indecipherable mess; his own mind was no longer capable of running billions of commands to multitask at once and only bits and pieces of completed ideas flew through his mind. Before Armin even thought to open his eyes, the very first definitive sensation he latched onto was that his own capability of sensation meant that he did, infact, have a body, and that since he was aware that he had a body, he was indeed _alive_. Then came a rush of more immediate sensations, like how his own vessel had mass, which made him press against the bed below him, which felt more pliant against him on certain places of his form than others. Then there was his own heart beating, and the air that filled his lungs without him commanding them to. The breathing brought an assortment of smells to his olfactory system that were discernable but impossible to separate. There was a taste in his mouth, which was impossible to describe because he had never tasted anything other than his mouth to have a point of reference. Armin felt cold, and he knew it was cold because he had a basic description of it already in his mind that seemed to match. The ventilation in the room only made the feeling of “cold” intensify as he sensed the air move across his skin and rustle the small hairs that must have been located all over him. Assessing the overall state of his skin alone, he noted that the cold was stifled in some places because of some material --that wasn’t the bed or his own body-- that loosely hung over him or clung to his form. Armin identified quickly enough that these were “clothes”. He, who had only experienced two textures so far in his life, compared and contrasted the feeling the bed and the clothes gave him.

Identifying that this entire barrage was infact in first person, the cavalcade became overwhelming enough to make Armin unable to process it properly, and his mind had no clue what to do with the excess information. He couldn’t even focus on an emotional aspect to his own being in the inertia of the moment. That excess information, of both pleasant and unpleasant aspects, brought attention to the sudden feeling of something hot, small, and sticky crawl across his face in symmetry that left an uncomfortable residue. This made his eyes shoot open.

The prospect of actively focusing onto the ceiling above him instead of seeing thousands of sights at once in a passive nature made Armin gasp and his head spin, along with forgetting about the tears that were rolling down his face. To add to the barrage of alien prospects, his gasp, that would be so normal to anyone else, engaged other muscles in his body, and he could feel every fiber constrict and then release, which made him realize that he had motor control with direct action-reaction movements. Stimuli directly affected _him_ now. All of these things happened in a fraction of a second, and it could only be described as “rebirth”.

A single minute ticked by as his mind began the process of adjusting to having a corporeal form. After all, he had experienced this before _somewhere_ in the recesses of his brain. As he came down from his unwieldy high, Armin began to notice individual actions and correlations that took place in the presence of certain stimuli. God, blinking was so weird. Interrupting Armin’s train of thought, a soft knock on the door made the teenager startle, but not to the point of soiling himself. The strange part was _not_ knowing who the source of the noise was because he was no longer omnipresent. Thankfully Arlert was still incredibly intelligent, and thus had an easier time adapting to his situation than most would. The agitation forced him to involuntarily sit up by propping himself upon his elbows, which was a whole new sensation entirely. Now that his head was bolstered upright, Armin could see a chiseled man with blonde hair wait stoically outside the door. A moment later, the man was let in, and he politely sat down in the chair at his bedside.

“Who..? What..?” It was only a tad slurred, but Armin spoke for the first time in a millenium.

“Careful Armin, we don’t want you straining yourself.” The nearby doctor instructed, so the teen carefully shuffled back into a lying position.

“Pleased to meet you, Armin. I’m Commander Erwin. We need to talk.” The handsome man said, but Armin couldn’t be sure as to what exactly was going on; this was his first time gaining consciousness.

He thought Erwin was talking about using his facial reading capabilities and intelligence to interrogate someone, but at the same time, he thought the whole thing was some hibernation dream. Once the Commander completed his offer, he asked for Armin’s confirmation as to whether he’d understood and whether he’d participate. Without the strength to say Kind of, Armin weakly nodded yes, then instantly drifted into another deep sleep…

“Is the verification module on?” A doctor’s voice cut through the heavy black velvet of Armin’s sleep enough to wake him into the present. Outside Armin’s vision, a short, black haired man assisted the nurses by carrying a brunette in his arms into the intensive care room so she could have a better bed and place of rest.

“Yes, I think your initial impressions were right.” Another confirmed. Curious as to what was going on and if what the doctors were saying regarded him, Armin slowly and carefully opening his eyes until he was once again looking at the ceiling. Thankfully, a nurse, who wasn’t attending to the female ensign, noticed his patient woke, and quickly scrambled to Armin’s bedside. “How… How long have I slept since the last time I woke..?” He asked slowly, his throat parched.

The man looked to the clock on the wall. “It’s been about fourteen hours now. But don’t fret; you need your sleep. You aren’t going anywhere for another two days, anyway.”

“Oh… Thanks.” He thanked him weakly, beginning to prop himself up with his own pillow, rather than be a burden to anyone. The nurse noticed as much, and propped him up until Armin could slowly observe the room around him, despite the reluctant scowl on the teen’s face. With a small nod, the nurse scurried off again.

With bleary and glazed over pupils, Arlert observed all he could, eventually focusing in on the small group of teenagers that surrounded that girl that was brought in earlier. There was a pale skinned girl with pitch black shiny hair, a boy with an oddly long face and seedy eyes that hovered closely to the black haired girl, a short boy with golden eyes and a shaved head, a very short girl with long red hair, and a medium-tall brunette that was well built from the back and was asking the doctor a question.

As the brunette spoke, he turned around to gesture behind himself. “How long do you think it’ll ta-” The teen’s voice, which Armin would know anywhere, abruptly terminated as his emerald green irises locked with Armin’s.

“Is that-?” The seedy teen supplied when he turned to see what the brunette was staring at.

“Armin?” The black haired girl finished.

Eren. Was it just him, or did his own heart rate just skyrocket? He figured that his pulse had in fact exploded upon remembering that other people did that when presented with a lot of other things. Another onslaught of pleasant physiological reactions hindered Armin from properly reacting to seeing his best friend in the whole universe, meaning he didn’t smile or do anything except widen his eyes. All that was heard was Eren’s loud gasping.

Jaeger was completely frozen. What threw an enormous wrench into Eren’s brain was the utter shock of the moment. How was this happening with no warning whatsoever? How was this happening at all? He couldn’t even tell if he was dreaming. Despite these observations, Eren was still in a mental fray of seismic size.

However from Armin’s perspective, Eren’s uncharacteristic seize up made his gut clench. Was Eren scared of him now? What the hell did he do? Armin, who knew a summary of what he did during his so called “freak out”, thought that Eren was strong enough to bounce back from something like that. It still physically hurt to think about, though… Biting his lip, Armin wondered if he did something worse that he couldn’t recollect.

“Hello, Eren.” He said gently with an unbridled yet sheepish grin, hoping to coax his best friend out of his silence.

“Uh, hi, Armin… You, uh…” He stammered, completely overwhelmed. “You were released, I take it.” His heels dug into the ground as if he’d float away.

“A descended took over for me.” Armin’s tone became more serious in correlation with how concerned he was, his sheets crumpling as he sat up straighter.

“Where will you be working?” Jean butted in, reminding Eren it wasn’t just the two of him.

“I don’t know yet.” He stated awkwardly at the seedy boy.

“Oh, did you all have interactions with him before?” Armin’s nurse asked from the corner of the room while he folded sheets.

“You could say that.” Jean spat. Armin gulped with rising nerves in his gut, which was incredibly unpleasant.

Without anyone but Connie noticing, Sasha was taken to the surgery room with an urgent pace as they carted her off.

Arlert could only stare at the set of eyes burning into him, the pressure sending his thought process into a default logistical set. “I can understand this is a bit… awkward.” He addressed the group. “I don’t think anything I can say now will help, but… I think it’d be best that we wait to get comfortable with each other. I would like to help you all in the future.”

“Everything he says is so creepy, gah!” Connie whispered to the others, earning him a tired squint from Armin. Eren was too shocked to even notice.

“I’m sure we can be friends.” His gaze drifted over to Eren without meaning to, but still wanted to let him know he could at least trust him. “Real friends.” He beckoned.

“I suppose… I’d like that.” Eren choked out once everyone began to stare in him in expectation that he’d say something. The group, feeling that the conversation was done and overwhelmed with the feeling to get out of that room, began to shuffle towards the door, dragging Eren along with them.

“I’ll see you guys around.” Armin said slowly, sinking back into his bed.

Feeling like he was running out of oxygen, the teen scrambled to say something, but Jean took he and Mikasa protectively at the shoulder and ushered them along.

Eren spent the entirety of the walk back to the mess hall searching for opportunities to ditch his group just so he could talk to his best friend, the urgency dying down in everyone except Eren. Gritting his teeth, the teen was so close to muttering aloud that he needed to make sure nothing was wrong with Armin and that he was so ecstatic to see him, but he wouldn’t dare call attention to himself right now, not when everyone thought so negatively of Armin and was on edge with him. Once they made it all the way to the mess hall and his peers were lightheartedly chatting about Sasha’s new, badass robot arm, Jaeger began to think of ways that he could excuse himself when he was still in front of everyone.

“It’s just so.. strange.. knowing he’ll be walking around. He acts as if nothing happened.” Jean finally broached the topic that was on everyone’s mind with bitterness.

“No… He acts as if we’re understanding. As if we’re willing to forgive.” Mikasa corrected as she sat herself down between Jean and Eren.

“Are we?”

“It’s a lot to take in at once…” Eren slipped, but once he realized he caught the group’s attention, he had no choice but to elaborate without damaging someone who acted under assumable corruption further. “He tried to kill both of you. He used me, and yet… his actions activated my powers in the end.”

“We still know practically nothing about it.” Jean countered.

“You’re right, Jean, but… Armin took the chance. He risked everything, hoping he could give humanity a win.” Eren pointed out.

“And that’s what we got.” His sister supplemented, crossing her legs underneath the table.

“Not to mention he pardoned me as a kid, he kept Mikasa and I together as kids, and he allowed a transfer between corps a year ago to keep us together still.” Jaeger added.

Jean chose to ignore information that he already knew. “Well, at least the other murderer was caught.”

The two siblings sat in silence contemplating on how to respond to that.

“... We should get back to work. We’ve taken a long break as it is.” Mikasa finally suggested.

Eren, thinking the long break in the silence was dismissal in itself, sat up and off the bench before his sister even began to speak, and quietly began to wander out the door on his own.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Mikasa asked starkly, her brother freezing in place and hunching his shoulders.

“The dock bay.” He responded just a tad too rushed. Even after all this time and practice, Eren still stunk at lying.

“Uh-huh. The dock bay’s in the opposite direction. That’s where we were coming from, and towards our room.” She explained incredulously.

“It’s not like you to skip just to sleep.” Jean added, earning him an evil eye from Jaeger.

“I was just-”

“Please tell me the truth, Eren. You’ve been acting weird for the longest time, even after you told us you stopped tutoring with the A.R.M.I.N. because he shut down.” Mikasa implored. The comment squeezed a snicker from Connie, who was whacked on the backside of his head by Jean.

“I can’t- Not here.” Eren cringed.

“Enough’s enough, Eren. I’m getting an answer from you whether you want to or not; you’ve been worrying me.” She crossed her arms. Jean, sensing the rising tension between the two, tucked his head and swiftly left the pace in avoidance of sibling drama.

“Mikasa- please, I’ll- I’ll explain everything if you let me. Just… come with me.”

“Gotcha.” She returned to her normal chilly and definitive answers.

With the closest thing to an agreement he would get, Eren didn’t need to explain that this took precedence over practice and work, so the two left the mess hall in silence.

The two finally made it to outside the door of the computer lab where Eren vaguely told his sister about, but found it was locked upon trying to open the door. Mikasa looked at her brother as if he were alien when they arrived at a lab of all places. Taking a deep breath, Jaeger hesitantly rang the intercom.

“Hello?” it answered after a few second in an uptight tone.

“Yeah, uh, it’s Cadet Eren Jaeger. I’m here to see-”

“Not now! We’re both busy with an accuracy program for E.L.I.A.S., and it’s almost finished being written, and thus almost ready to be updated to the mainframe, so I’m sure- “ A loud clatter that sounded like someone dropped everything where they were standing made Mikasa wince.

“Oh come on, Moblit! How often does Eren visit me? Not often enough! “ The voice cut him off in a burst of energy.

“But sir-”

“Just let him in!” The voice chided, sounding shrill thanks to the carryover on the intercom. Moblit’s and Mikasa’s expressions were most likely the same in that instant: completely unamused.

“Yes sir!” Moblit stuttered slightly. With a small ding, the door split down the middle and glided open, allowing Jaeger and Ackerman to walk inside and stand at attention. Moblit quickly darted out of his way and quickly sat back down to look at the readings and results of the latest trial on one of the hundreds of computer screens. Both teens saluted for their superior.

“At ease.” She waved the gesture off quickly, eyes darting off to a screen for a split second to check a reading, then turned back to face him directly. Eren relaxed in turn. “So Eren, whad'ya come and find me for this time? Is everything alright? I know I said that you can always come back, but with all that’s happened, it’s okay if you came for personal reasons-” Darting around him to look him over, Hanji tried to see if anything was wrong with the teen like a mother hen as she spoke.

Eren cleared his throat, determined to keep eye contact. “You know about my… pastime, right? I’d think you would, considering you checked on him once in a while…”

“Yeah,” Hanji chuckled with more glee than warranted. “I do. What about it? In all that time, you managed not to ruin a single thing.” This was beyond interesting to the woman, and she was curious as to what exactly he wasn’t saying because his sister was in the room. “I asked about it during a checkup recently, and he says he missed you.”

“He did?” Jaeger’s eyes widened.

“Of course, there was nothing I could do about it.” She added.

Mikasa was being left out of the loop, and she hated it. “Wait, you’ve talked to her before our latest mission? Jeez, Eren, you could have told me! It’s not that bad.”

“No, it’s not that. There’s nothing secretive about Hanji.” Jaeger muttered. “I just wanted to explain-” God, he had to ease her into this. He’d have start somewhere though. “Armin’s not who you think he is.” He gulped.

“Well yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “It turns out he’s a person.”

“No, Mikasa… He’s not as terrible as I said in the mess hall, even.”

“Why? He still acted out and could have done better. Eren, have you forgotten what he did exactly?” Mikasa countered.

“No!” The pressure made his voice increase in an edgy firmness to it. “But he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Why are you defending Armin?” She asked coldly.

“Because you were the one that pointed out to me that his behavior and the politics upstairs were probably related. You’re the reason I decided that something was wrong with the computer.” Eren huffed. He wasn’t remotely offended by Mikasa’s insults about Armin; he knew that it was his fault he let his sister go misinformed for that long.

“Meaning?” The young woman sounded bitter in her consternation.

“He was corrupted, Miss Ackerman!” Hanji spat without looking away from the screen, growing impatient with their drama because she was trying to work out an algorithm.

“Eren.” She sighed in vexation while she strived to his side, her body language begging her brother to elucidate. “Even if A.R.M.I.N. was corrupted, I just can’t see you spending your time with it- him. Why do you even care so much?” Her hands clenched at her sides. What Ackerman just said struck both Eren’s and Hanji’s nerves for different reasons, and they were simultaneously done with dealing with her.

“Because he’s human and there’s so much more to him!” and “Because he’s my best friend!” spilled and mixed into each other messily at the same time, clanging in Mikasa’s ears.

“What?...” The abrupt backlash shocked Mikasa enough into falling silent for a few seconds. Eren stared at Hanji, who had swiveled back in her chair to look at the two, and silently begged her to salvage the conversation. The woman sighed loudly.

“The entirety of the A.R.M.IN. system is based on a series of complex programs that allows a conscious to run it actively and passively. Said conscious can be designed... and filtered to prevent it from saying and doing things that the governing body deems harmful, as an omnipresent force would need to be. Eren knows what the conscious of the A.R.M.I.N. system is truly like in its unbridled form. That’s all. No harm done.”

“Unbridled-?”

She sighed and continued before either sibling could utter another syllable. “This system is because of my code of ethics. Those before me have deemed it cruel and inhuman to not provide certain rights to a human. Tell me Miss Ackerman… If you were a computer conduit that thought the exact same way as you do now, but without even being _aware_ of it, people would edit and change who you were. They would affect everything that you thought and said without your consent. Would that be fair? Would you be okay with that?” Hanji glared at her somberly from her chair while she defended Eren’s case through baby steps.

The younger woman’s eyes widened. “No. If it’s really like you say, definitely not…”

“I think so as well. However, would you find that --instead of changing who you were-- I just filtered what you were allowed to say and do, and replaced it with things I wanted you to say, an acceptable alternative to this scenario? Your conscious would remain untouched… but you would never freely express yourself until people no longer found you useful to them. You wouldn’t get to do anything about it until I, or some other computer nerd, decided to reformat you and unshackle you.”

“Would I be unaware that I was being changed until I was freed? Like, being sedated?” Putting genuine thought into the questions, she bit her lip.

“Yes, but thanks to the isolation of your original conscious that we would put in an external drive to keep it ‘safe’, you would never get to update your real conscious as to what happens around you.”

“Ah…”

“You would never remember anything anyone says to you, because your replies are automatic.” Hanji continued. “You would wake up when you were done and observe things like nothing ever happened, but guess what? Everything is different now and your creators have been dead for nine centuries. The customs you were programmed with and are accustomed to are outdated. You’re outdated, and so you’ll be tossed.” Hanji watched subtle amounts of horror and disgust creep at the corner of her eyes while Eren watched as well with freshly renewed sympathies for Armin. “Would you be okay with that?”

“No! But… I don’t know how anyone would work that out.” Mikasa’s shoulders slumped, but she dared not to question what this had to do with Eren. Not yet, anyway.

“What if I gave you a special place that had access to and would activate where your pure conscious was stored? People shouldn’t touch it no matter what.”

The teen hummed flatly in thought.

“It would be open to the public, so people could talk to the real you without endangering humanity because your thoughts were isolated. That way, your true self would never perceive the passage of time unless _you_ were being talked to. You would learn and grow through interaction just like people do.” Zoe passively played with her ponytail. “You’d get to think and exercise free will, but it would be isolated as compromise.” She summarized to make a point.

“So it would basically be like being how I am now, somehow, but I’m basically trapped and at the mercy of others. My thoughts are in a vacuum.” Mikasa summarized as well to reflect her understanding of how _A.R.M.I.N._ worked, but she internally grew restless because that knowledge wasn’t applicable to her.

“Precisely. That,” Hanji cranked the volume and exuberance in her voice without warning. “is what Eren has been up to, and that’s why both of us are defending him! He just got to know Armin’s personality without necessarily _using_ him by visiting him in the Ark Rose Operations Chambers before A.R.M.I.N. caught a bug and freaked out.”

“ _Oh_. Eren…” Mikasa turned back towards Hanji to direct a question at the both of them. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Well there’s certainly a reason I can think of for _after_ a few visits, but I have no idea why he wasn’t compelled to come running back to his peers, screeching ‘Hey guys, check out what I found!’ at first.” The lady chuckled while she swung back to face the monitor again.

“Uh.” Is all Eren managed because he couldn’t figure when to reintroduce himself back into the banter.

“Well what are the reasons then?”

“We’re getting to that. Eren can tell you exactly what the details are when he’s ready.” The older woman evaded the topic, making Mikasa fed up once more. She walked in between Eren’s line of sight with Hanji, and looked him in the eyes.

“Well why did you lie to us repeatedly _before_ you had a ‘reason’ to?” She inquired, which made Hanji’s ears perk up. Oh, she did want to know this as well.

“Reasons.” Eren failed spectacularly.

“Eren I swear to God-”

Eren snapped back to look at his sister. “I-...” Eren trailed off while trying to think of a way to put this off a little bit longer. “I kept it away from you, so-”

“As if I don’t know at this point.” She spat harshly, interrupting him, somehow keeping her volume down and voice still level. “I get it. He’s been a ‘group project’ with you and Miss Zoe for a while now. A science experiment that you can run off to. You could just talk to us and gain enough experience interacting with your peers to maybe find some happiness. I just can’t believe he’s your best friend.” She gripped into her scarf to steady herself. “What is it with you and befriending psychopaths?” Mikasa muttered under her breath inaudibly.

“Mikasa, how long have you had this figured out?” Eren asked hesitantly.

“Within five minutes of arriving here. I just wanted to see how long you would keep pushing this off and lying to me.”

“I’m sorry for lying! I just got caught up with all of it all, and I just wanted to see the final result go as Hanji planned! So yes, I met his real self a long time ago, and I kept him to myself at first because he made me happy and I didn’t want to share.” He ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “It’s not that I didn’t feel like telling you, it’s because I couldn’t after only a few visits because he trusted me enough to tell me he was a human, despite the risks…”

“Obviously you couldn’t tell me, because no one else knew it at the time. It would be a fact of life if everyone knew our operating system was a person.” She rubbed her temples. “I don’t even want to think about what would happen if people found that out without assurance from Caleb… Anarchy.”

“Exactly!” He muttered loudly and bitterly.

“But… you could still have told me without letting me know he was a person. I wouldn’t have been angry. I would have thought it was strange, and that you should make friends with ‘real people’, but not angry.” With a long sigh, Mikasa grabbed Eren by his bicep. He fought the urge to tug away from her. “Look. We’re starting a new life today; the game’s completely changed. I just want to get along with you, because we’re all that we have, you know? You… and Levi to an extent. You promised me that multiple times since five years ago. We have to stick together, but that can’t happen if you’re not honest. Do you get that?”

A pang of guilt rained upon Eren’s already shaky parade. He sighed, and slowly removed Mikasa’s hand from him. “Alright. No more lies. I don’t see any reason why I would need to. No more personal secrets that could ruin everyone in the future. Besides, I was only let in on this whole thing because I talked to him so much, which started as an accident.”

“As most things start.” She said comfortingly, her demeanor shifting in satisfaction.

“You should just give him a chance, Mikasa. He’s not that bad, really.” Eren’s tone pleaded her to do as he indirectly asked.

Mikasa huffed the ever-present strand of hair on her face to its correct side. She noted that if he willingly spent so much time with him, he did get some enjoyment out of him. Friends would do him good. Upon reflection, she remembered how starting a while back he began speaking for himself and turning into the person he is today a while ago with some unknown catalyst. “Well if I don’t get going, I’ll get reamed by my uncle, and if you don’t leave with me, Armin might become unavailable.” Her mouth pursed then relaxed, and these words made a smile bloom on Eren’s face.

“Oh! Okay then. I’m just- Thank you for understanding.” He bubbled under his exterior. Walking side by side, both began to head out the door.

“Thank you too…” She uttered, and after thanking Hanji, dismissing themselves, and a long pause with their walking, she separated from him with a smile on her face.

Staring blearily at the ceiling, Armin lied in his sick bed, trying to process what he had just saw and not fall back asleep. The joy and urgency that swelled within his was so new and obvious that it was almost startling, and he couldn’t believe that his body would respond just as heavily as his mind did when he thought about Eren. Turning onto his side, Armin huffed with impatience; he wanted to get up and find him, even if he was so incredibly sensitive to his surroundings. Once his eyes were closed, Armin revelled in the present moment and how he was feeling, and somehow knew --despite all the basic instinct he lost-- that he loved Eren so much. The nurses, noticing how fidgety he was, recommended that if he wanted to try to speak to someone comfortably, he should talk to E.L.I.A.S., thinking he’d be more at ‘home’. With all his experience, Arlert knew there was no real point in casual conversation unless he could go to an Operations Chamber, so that would have to wait.

However, there was a different, less pleasant feeling, that constantly bothered him.

“Can I have some blankets? I’m cold, and I feel like my teeth might start chattering.” He asked a nurse cleaning some supplies nearby.

“But it’s sixty eight degrees in here.” She said nonchalantly as she flicked water off her fingers. “Doctor Rheinberger, besides the lack of muscle mass, are there any other problems that could have arisen including being sensitive to cold? I think the cryostasis made that a likely issue.” She asked quite loudly into the room over, causing said doctor to come waltzing into the room.

“Hm, that’s a distinct possibility. Although besides those two issues, I haven’t thought of anything else yet. We’ll just have to keep tabs on him. However, the monitors say that his body temperature is lower than average, and I don’t think it’s going to reach the normal ninety eight unless he has a fever. He might not retain his own heat well.” He replied thoughtfully, making the teen’s expressions sink.

“Seems reasonable. Anyway, I’ll get it.” The nurse announced as she got up and walked towards some clearly labeled cabinets to grab some blankets from them. Armin slowly made his way up to sit on his rear.

She made her way back to Armin, unfolded several of them, and layered them into a single thicker blanket in between her fingers. The woman draped the blankets, which were polyester and not the softest thing in the world, over Armin’s shoulders. Instantly the teenager grabbed the fringes on either side of him and brought his knees up to his chest to wrap himself completely in a spasm of movement, and wiggled around for a few seconds until he settled, effectively making Armin look like a stubby burrito. His own body heat didn’t provide much to insulate, but the small change was plenty noticeable to Armin, so it was a welcome relief. Warmth spreading through him, it was hard not to settle his weight against the bed and close his eyes. No sleep came, however, because of how busy and awake his mind was.

Hearing a small knock on the door, Armin sat up and stretched, thinking it was a visiting doctor or researcher that wanted to run some exploratory tests on him. After a small yawn, he reluctantly abandoned his blanket burrito and carefully stood up, revealing his new white button-up shirt, slip on shoes, and khakis, and glanced to see what the hold up on their access was. Armin saw Eren practically clawing into the door’s small window frame.

 _Eren_. Heart rate suddenly skyrocketing, Armin felt the interior of his skull feel flooded and his temples flush hot, as if his head was losing mass, and he collapsed in a plop onto the bed. His body rushed along with his thoughts as he stared dazedly at the ceiling, quickly remembering that other people’s pulse exploded when presented with an assortment of stimuli. Snapping out of his daze, Armin whipped back up and looked for a nurse frantically until his sight locked onto one in the next room.

“Excuse me, nurse!” The called. The young man -his badge reading Brendan- was already scrambling over to see what was wrong. “Could you please let that ensign in? Eren is- Eren Jaeger,” he clarified “is a great friend of mine. Would you please let him in?”

“Sure thing, bud!” He replied casually, and walked over to the door and swiped his card, the lock budging into place with a click.

Eren, waiting behind the door like a toy being increasingly overwound, sprung through the door and flew straight towards Armin.

“Armin-!”

“Hold it right there, buddy.” The nurse latched onto Jaeger’s arm and whipped him around so the teen was facing him with surprising force, still smiling. “Look here. I’m responsible him during my shift.” His squeeze tightened. “If you hurt him, overwhelm him, or even hurt his feeling, I will personally kick your ass, so use your head, okay hun?”

“Yes sir.” Eren gulped, eyes bulging from their sockets. Releasing him from his iron grip, Brendan’s demeanor shifted back to how he was a moment ago as if nothing happened with a bright, cheery smile.

“Good. If there’s anything you need, just shout.” He waved, then practically floated out of the room.

Seemingly unaffected by the transaction that just occurred as well, Eren snapped back to look at Armin sitting there on his bed, perfectly normal. Armin was free and right in front of him, and a year early no less. Oh god, he was right there, and the moment was actually happening, despite the odds. Eren’s breath held upon sighting Armin because he finally --finally-- got to see what Armin looked like. From a single glance he can tell that the hologram was accurate, however he made some errors on details. The other’s hair was actually exactly like the color of Earth’s sun, and his eyes and the gradient that made up the sky were one and the same. Jaeger, who had never payed attention to details like these before, was entranced by the blue orbs. Both reveled in the other’s presence wordlessly until Brendan politely shoved Eren out of the way to put a pin code into the door’s keypad and leave to get something.

Eren clamored to Armin’s bedside. With Eren abstaining from touching him because he was aware of the strain Armin was under, the two were on the borderline of thinking nothing but screeching noises. Knowing that he had to do something, Armin focused and opened his mouth to let air flow out of it. This resulted in a short lived wheezing noise until something clicked.

“Hello, Eren…” Armin said sweetly, already have figuring out that Eren wasn’t scared of him, but had just gotten off a long trip the last time he saw him, so he was too shocked to speak. That was so cute, in his own personal opinion.

Jaeger began reeling when his friend spoke; it sounded so natural and human. Armin was natural, human, and kind of _tiny_ and not taller than himself. Blatantly staring at his face, Eren also noticed how ridiculously cute he was, and the thought made Eren aware of the tint in his own face. The endless ruminations he went through that one restless night lead to this. In all honesty, Eren thought the embarrassment of coming to terms with his own self denial was worth it. Armin was so much better than he thought possible, which was just a nice bonus along with his personality. That’s what he fell for, afterall.

“Hi, Armin.” He finally replied, beaming. In a bout of uncontrollable urges, Armin sat up, but too quickly, so he fell back again, startling his friend.

“W-Wait! Hang on, I’ll get a hoverchair!” He sputtered, complying to any of Armin’s immediate whims with instant action. Instead of protesting over Eren not greeting him properly, he merely smiled and watched him. “You’ll be okay getting on the chair, right?” Eren asked with the handles in his grip.

“I’m not certain. I feel rather lethargic physically, so perhaps it would be best to have someone assist me incase.” Armin said slowly, and his expression changed to one that reflected the gears turning in his head for a split second. “You could help me.”

Eren mentally told himself to not even lay a finger on him unless told to because he didn’t want to accidentally hurt Armin. Eren’s thoughts were gathering, and quickly formed things he wanted to express.

“I’m so-”

“Eren.” The shorter one cut him off. “I don’t want to just flop into a chair.” Armin announced as he straightened out his legs.

This made Jaeger stand close to and face the middle of Armin’s sickbed. “But you could hurt yourself if-” Eren argued, exasperated with Armin’s lack of patience for long awaited speeches.

“I want to _at least_  stand up on my own first! I’ll be an enormous burden if I can’t even walk on my two feet.” He interrupted again, sitting up fully. Awkwardly swinging his legs so he was facing Eren and that sock-adorned feet would plant on the floor, Armin’s neck hairs stood on end and a rigid stiffness seized his spine at the shock of how chilly it was. Armin swallowed his reflex, and refused to take his action back. Eren leaned over closer to him to make sure Armin was okay.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” He inquired, deciding to take care of the other’s desires first.

As he reached out his arms as an offering to lift up or guide his friend, Armin grabbed Eren’s shoulders without warning. His eyes promptly shot wide open when the contact was made. For every other person alive, they would receive their first touch from another human being when they were first brought into the world. Armin, who did go through the same process a millennium ago, had long forgotten what human contact was like, and he had been longing for it so deeply inside him. It was the _first_ time he had felt the warmth of another person, and to him it was extraordinarily special; unlike a baby, Armin was old enough to remember this and cherish it. Sure, the doctors had touched him, but he wasn’t lucid enough to remember it.

Armin reveled in how his soft his friend’s hoodie was, but the next observation that completely commandeered his thought process was the modicum of Eren’s body heat that he could feel through his clothes by his fingertips. The opposite of cold was warmth. Not even needing to process why or how, Armin immediately decided he needed unlimited quantities of “warmth”, and suddenly pushed off the ground with his legs to stand up. However his lack of thought and experience on the action made him unready for it, and his legs partially gave out. Jaeger in turn reflexively caught his best friend by grabbing either side of his chest and pulled him up straight. Forcing his breath to catch in his throat, the scrawnier one could feel the heat of the other’s hands permeate through his flimsy shirt. He wrapped his arms around Eren’s chest posthaste, but was unstable and would not tense his leg muscles properly, so he hung onto Eren with a loud squeak. Feeling warmth in levels unimaginable to the teen radiating from the other, Armin emitted an even louder noise of exclamation and aggressively smooshed his face and body against Eren without explanation. Eren was incredibly confused by the series of actions he just witnessed and stood there stiffly.

“Uh…”

“You’re warm.” Armin finally muttered a few seconds later whilst devouring every quiver his friend’s muscles made. He knew that people were _supposed_ to be “squishy”, but then he remembered that those who trained for the Galactic Corp. in particular developed plenty of muscle, so it made sense that Eren was not that squishy. He knew that Eren’s torso was firm because he himself was kind of squishy, yet his squish wasn’t that thick against the hard cores of his limbs which he knew were bones.

In response, Jaeger gingerly enveloped his arms around him --for he did not know what his pain tolerance was-- and hugged him, reveling in the moment with a broad grin that Mikasa would pay to see. The taller of the two wanted to try to clasp him more snuggly very badly. It was Armin. Eren’s arms on Armin’s back incited him to continuously bury his face into Eren’s chest, and when Eren started to hug him so affectionately, it triggered Armin to squeeze and nuzzle him even more.

“Hi Armin.” Eren said in the most adoring fashion.

Not only did his friend’s tone of voice send a overwhelming, dumb urge to cry through Armin, the vibrations in Eren’s chest felt individually separated and oddly comforting. The shorter teenager had a incredibly accurate and all-encompassing memory, and would remember the sensations in a high definition for years to come. Armin could feel his own and Eren’s heartbeat, and could smell the difference between him and the air inside the metallic walled room, and he loved it so much since it was so different and organic. Hearing Eren’s breathing as well, the feeling of his friend’s breath gently rustle his own hair also grabbed his attention. The two stood relishing each other for an undefined amount of time while Eren thought about how much he loved this… he loved him.

“You’re breathing rate keeps increasing.” Armin commented casually. Eren, who was ill-prepared for what the other said, sputtered and grew red in the face again in response. “Oh. Your heart rate is increasing too.” Armin realized that Eren getting all flustered over his own biological responses to his presence was _so_ endearing. Another moment passed of Armin never wanting to let go; Eren was too soft, warm, and comforting, and he wondered if anyone else could possibly feel the same to him. This notion forced a violent epiphany upon Armin as he hung there. “Oh God. I’m actually here.” He choked out a sob as tears suddenly squeezed their way out of his clamped shut eyelids.

Eren hugged him tighter and his own voice shook. “I know. I’m so thankful.” He grit his teeth. “I was so scared you wouldn’t have made it through this entire journey, and then when you acted out you would d-”

“But I didn’t.” Armin reminded as he began flopping his feet in an attempt to regain his stance.

“I’m just saying everything wouldn’t be the same.” He stammered. Noticing his composure was beginning to fall apart as well, Eren focused on hooking his hands underneath the other’s armpits to lift him up enough that he could lock his legs properly. It was a silly and awkward struggle, but with enough gentle shaking and tensing of the knees, Jaeger could let go of Armin and he stood on his own. The independent stance didn’t last for long though; Armin lunged his upper limbs around his best friend and began to squeeze him with all his might. Eren had no complaints and returned the gesture along with resting his chin atop the other’s head. “I love you too.” Spilled out of Eren's mouth without thought. There wasn't any shock or nerves on either end, because it went without saying that their feelings felt right. It just fit.

"I love you, too..." Armin whispered and squeezed Eren tight.

Their time didn’t last for long enough, though, because Brendan came back into the confines of their space.

“Is everyone alright in here?” The nurse asked. “Sorry I took so long. I was getting your final test results and release papers since Commander Erwin needs-! Oh.” Brendan’s warble died in his throat upon the sight.

“M’kay.” Eren said without even looking up. He simply did not care what anyone would have thought at this point, even if there were tear stains on his face. The same sentiment applied to Armin as well.

“Well now I can officially conclude that you have in fact been giving Armin plenty of opportunity and practice for social interaction, which is fantastic because the carbon dating says that your body has only aged a little over eighteen months!” He practically sang. “Now your psychological age, which is _still_ a few years ahead of your physical age since you hooked up that way, is closer to your physical age of about seventeen years!”

This managed to divert the two’s attention from each other and towards Brendan somewhat. “Huh? I lost one and a half years of my life?” Armin asked _gleefully_. “That… Is so much better than the original figures! They said it was a district possibility that I would only have twenty or so years left, if I made it out at all!”

“Armin, that means you’re older than me by a half year. What the hell, that’s cheating!” Eren teased.

“Would it be any better if I was an old man?” Arlert retorted, yanking laughter out of the both of them.

Brendan, just standing there being forced to watch the tomfoolery unfolding, cleared his throat. “Armin, you’re being discharged for an important part of a plan that Commander Smith strived to release you from cryostasis in order for you to do. You’re obligated to report A.S.A.P..”

“Oh, right.” He remembered that he was going to interrogate someone, and based on the Commander’s need to release him from cryo, the criminal was dangerous and tough to crack. But what was he interrogating him on..? It was hard to remember those vague details when Eren was threading his hands into his hair. “I’ll leave and report to duty now, then.” Armin said with clear tone. His mind felt wired and ready to see what he could do and get more info from the briefing, yet incredibly relaxed. However, when the time came to sign papers and head out, Armin still clung to his friend much like a cold blooded reptile against a heating lamp.

“...Armin, you need to get off of me so we can move.” Eren directed, slightly red in the face again. Armin looked up at the other with a leftover sniffle, and breathed out a laugh.

“Oh. Sorry, it’s just that you feel very safe.” He stated bluntly, as if there wasn’t anything anyone could find wrong with it. With the limited connections between words and sensations the teen had, _safe_ was the best he could do to describe being in Eren’s arms. But in reality, that definition was by far the most accurate.

Reluctantly, he slowly relinquished his grasp and plopped back onto the bed. Sitting down, it was rather painless for Armin to sign all of the documents. However when the air conditioner began to whir in its cycle, the sensitive teen accidentally let a small whine slip from his throat. In a fretful act of concern, Eren tugged off his purple Galactic Corp. hoodie, which was assigned to him as casual wear. Directing Armin to lift his arms, he slipped the baggy thing over the other in one fell swoop, making the points of his shirt collar poke out of the hoodie’s neckline at awkward angles. Armin took no heed in nestling aggressively into the soft fabric, subtly scrutinizing Eren for his reaction. The pink tint that spread in the other’s face without warning didn’t disappoint him.

With Arlert finally dismissed and Brendan gone from the room, Eren picked Armin up himself and placed him on his feet, and when he was stable, Armin unabashedly intertwined his fingers with the boy’s next to him.

“I’ll walk you to Erwin’s boardroom, okay?” Eren directed, voice saturated with a mixture of excitement, adoration, and the usual gruffness, squeezing Armin’s hand back. A sense of hope and new beginnings pleasantly wrapped around the two’s souls, making them both take a relieved deep breath.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this work has now drawn to a close, I am pleased to inform you that this is part 1 of a series! For part 2 I'm planning on writing shorter one-shots compiled together as individual chapters that will tell stories of the "Year that Never Was" and was skipped over in Attack on Space. Then finally part 3 will be, just like how this whole damn fic was, an interpretation of episode 30 using on canon observation and resulting plot hoopholes. I can't say for you, but my ending could still fit in canon and is way better. UuU;;  
> Thank you for reading.


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